Through The Looking Glass
by David Falkayn
Summary: Athena must find a new home for herself when she is thrust into a completely new universe and in the process finds herself part of prophecy. Rated M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Chapter One: You Know What They Say About Wishes

_This is another old story of mine that I dusted off and am updating and continuing. This story is a Battlestar Galactica (TOS) and Battlestar Galactica (RDM) crossover focusing primarily on Athena. In many ways, an unappreciated and underutilized character, I think there's plenty of room for development for her. To those who might have read this story several years ago on the Spacebattles board, I have almost completely overhauled the beginning and will be basically overhauling the entire story. I hope you like the new stuff I've added and will be adding. I won't be updating this story as frequently as "Who Are You." That story remains my primary focus. Well, I've rambled on long enough—I'll let you get to the story. And again, I want to thank everyone for favoriting me and my stories and for your reviews—they have been most helpful and kind. Have a great weekend (for those of us who work four day weekends:) ) and I'll see you Sunday with the next part of "Who Are You."_

"That's right, Boxey!" Athena praised, careful not to keep her praise for her nephew by marriage too effusive, "We had to leave our homes because the Cylons destroyed them."

'Why do they want to hurt us, Teacher?" A girl student approximately Boxey's age questioned.

"That's a good question, Kara." Athena smiled warmly at the blonde haired girl seated next to Boxey. "As you remember from our last lesson, the Cylons were originally created by a reptilian alien race, but are all robotic now. The original Cylons were wiped out by their creations. Later on, humans liberated the world of Hasari and so the Thousand Yahren War began. The war had taken many, many lives until Baltar..."

Athena paused as her narrative was interrupted by the students booing that name. After giving her students a few seconds to vent, Athena raised her hand for silence, "Baltar claimed to be negotiating a peace treaty, but really he betrayed us all and, just as it looked like we were about to end the war, the Cylons launched a surprise attack..."

"And Commander Adama called on all the survivors to leave their planets and join him." Kara finished.

"Very good, Kara." Athena praised

"When I grow up..." The blonde girl declared, "I'm going to be the best viper pilot in the fleet."

"You can't be a viper pilot, Thrace!" Boxey teased, "You're just a girl!"

"Better take that back, daggit!" Kara shouted as she balled her fists, "Or I'll give you a fat lip to go with your fat head!"

"Kara!" Athena quickly interrupted, interposing herself between the two kids. "Language! Go to the corner—you've got ten centons quiet time. Boxey! Girls can be viper pilots too, I'm one." Athena asserted, "Other corner, Boxey, you've got ten centons quiet time for starting the fight."

As Boxey sat down in his corner, he glanced across at Kara who was sitting in the other corner. Kara, upon recognizing that Boxey was looking at her, quickly stuck her tongue out at him.

"Kara! I saw that! That's an extra two minutes!"

Managing to get through the rest of the instructional period without incident, Athena sighed with relief when the chime rang out signaling the end of the day. "Class, dismissed!" Watching as her students departed, Athena barely suppressed a laugh as Kara gave Boxey a quick shove out the door.

"That girl's going to be trouble for someone one day."

"Starbuck?" Athena greeted as the roguish Warrior met her at the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting ready to go out on patrol with Apollo." Starbuck replied as the pair walked down the corridor.

Pausing for a moment, Athena looked her fellow Warrior and former lover in the eyes, challenging, "What am I doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Starbuck answered, feigning innocence.

"I mean what the frak am I doing teaching a primary instructional class when I'm qualified to be flying vipers and the fleet needs more pilots?" Athena insisted, "I was trained by the best..." Ignoring Starbuck's preening at her compliment, Athena steamrollered on, "I've proven myself on more than one occasion. I should be flying patrols with you guys—not teaching students or standing bridge watches!"

"I know that and you know that!" Starbuck sighed, shaking his head, "But getting your father and brother to know that..."

"Yeah...well..." Athena complained as they reached the door to her quarters, "They better learn and soon!"

"See ya, later, 'Thena!" Starbuck called out as Athena stormed into her quarters, closing the door behind her. Ignoring her former lover's goodbye, Athena quickly stripped out of her normal warrior's uniform and slipped into the sonic fresher. As the sonic vibrations cleaned the dirt and sweat from her body, the raven-haired Warrior quietly bemoaned her fate. Stepping out of the sonic fresher, she slipped on her sky blue robe as she strode towards the dresser in her room. With a derisive snort, she shook her head as she addressed her reflection in the mirror. "_Galactica's_ short of pilots and what does my father have me doing? Flying CAP? No! Long range recon? Frak no! Not even flying a shuttle! I'm on comm duty again! And if Father and big brother have anything to say about it that's all I'll ever do!"

"Frak this!" Athena cursed as she slipped on her form fitting dark blue, almost black, bridge officer's uniform. "Just once I'd like to do something different…something exciting…something other than say, 'Launch vipers

Exiting her quarters and striding down the corridors of the massive warship, she smiled insincerely at the warriors and techs, absent mindedly greeting one, and then the other as she made her way towards yet another boring duty rotation, lost in her thoughts until roused by a shouted greeting.

"Athena!"

"Deitra?" Turning towards the source of the call, Athena immediately recognized the lithe chocolate skinned form of her sometime wing-mate. "I thought you were on shuttle duty?"

"I am…" The other woman, also a fully checked out viper pilot, replied with a sigh, "I just got back from the _Rising Star_." She then gave Athena a sympathetic look, "I brought with me Sire Uri and some of the Council of Twelve…"

"Oh, frak…" Athena cursed, her normal composed exterior cracking for a moment. "That means I'll be the one stuck holding their hands and listening to Sire Uri's whining about my father during their 'inspection tour'…"

"Better you than me…" Deitra jibed and then in a more sympathetic voice commiserated, "I had to listen to him all the way over here. All he did the entire trip was complain about the Commander not respecting his position, about how the Commander didn't call the Council often enough, about how rarely the Commander consulted with him, about..."

"All right! All right!" Athena conceded, sighing dramatically, "I get it! He's being his usual pain in the ass."

"Yeah." Deitra nodded her head. Then, her lips turning up into a wicked grin, whispered conspiratorially, "Tell you what…meet me in the rejuvenation center after duty and I'll buy you an ambrosia and you can tell me all about what sort of felgercarb Sire Uri's stirring up this time…"

"Thanks, Deitra…" Athena replied with a smile, "Make it two and I'll take you up on that."

"Done!" The other woman smiled back, "I'll meet you then."

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Stepping on to the bridge, Athena strode purposely towards her duty station near Flight Corporal Rigel. Smiling down at the eager, petite younger woman, the raven haired lieutenant asked, "Anything special I need to know about?"

"Colonel Tigh wants to see you, Lieutenant." The corporal smiled back as she motioned with a jerk of the head where the dark skinned executive officer of the _Galactica_ stood talking with the operations officer, Omega. "I think it's about Sire Uri…" Rigel added a note of pity in her voice.

Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Athena forced a smile to her face, "Thanks for the advanced warning, Rigel."

Athena came to attention before the distinguished Colonel who was both her father's executive officer and best friend. "Sir?" She politely drew his attention. "You wanted to see me?"

"We'll discuss the matter further, Omega." Colonel Tigh said as he turned to his best friend's daughter. "Lieutenant." He nodded his head in recognition. "I have an important assignment for you." Maintaining, with great difficulty, a stoic expression on her face, Athena awaited the inevitable bad news. "Sire Uri, along with other members of the Council, have arrived to conduct an inspection tour of the ship. Give them a standard inspection tour, keep them away from sensitive areas while being polite about it, keep them entertained and above all, keep them away from either Commander Adama or me." He then gave the lieutenant a meaningful look, "Do you understand?"

"Perfectly, Sir." Athena replied, the faintest traces of a grin crossing her features as she regarded the XO who was also her father's best friend and something of an uncle to her. "I'm to keep the old gasbag out of yours and father's hair."

Putting on a stern front, the Colonel growled, "That 'old gasbag', Lieutenant is a Sire and a member of the Council of Twelve and will be treated with the respect that is his due—am I making myself clear?"

Snapping to attention, Athena replied in a crisp voice, "Yes Sir."

"Good," Colonel Tigh snapped, "Now, carry out your orders."

"Yes Sir," Athena acknowledged, pretending to ignore the faintest traces of a smile crossing the older man's features. Returning the looks of sympathy given to her by Rigel and Omega with a faint smile, Athena turned to exit the bridge. As the lift doors closed behind her, the raven-haired pilot sighed in frustration, "Teacher, comm officer, and now I'm a tour guide. There has to be something better for me. This can't be all there is to my life!"

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"Frak!" Dr. Wilker cursed as he once again examined the reams of data on his desk, only to come to the same conclusion. "Frak…" Then, activating his comm unit, he spoke, "Get me Commander Adama…now."

"Can you meet me in my office, Commander?" The physicist requested, "We have a potential situation I think you need to be made aware of. One that could be of tremendous importance to the fleet."

"I'll be there directly, Doctor." The Commander replied as he exited his quarters. Arriving several centons later at the scientist's combined laboratory and office, Adama rang the entry chime, "Doctor Wilker."

"Please come in, Commander!" The physicist called out.

"What's so vitally important Doctor that it couldn't wait for our normal briefing?" Adama inquired, quickly noticing the grave look on the scientist's face, "Is the fleet really in danger?"

"It could be in great danger." Wilker declared, "But there is also a potential great opportunity within that danger. However, that opportunity will not come without some risk."

"Perhaps you need to explain this in a bit more detail, Doctor." The Commander prompted.

"Sit down, please, Commander." Wilker requested, "And I shall."

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Entering the reception area, Athena immediately spotted her charges. Spotting at once Sires Uri and Domra, the dark-haired officer shook her head in dismay as she muttered. "Great! Not only do I have to be nice to Sire Uri, I have to deal with his pet daggit too. And of course where Uri and Domra go, Uri's other pet daggit, Geller follows." As she approached the gathered dignitaries, however, the sight of one of the Sires brought at least a slight smile to Athena's face. "Siress Tinia!" The lieutenant greeted as she deliberately avoided making her initial greetings to the senior member of the Quorum present, Sire Uri. Deciding that she had made her point, she then turned to Sire Uri and the others and addressed them by name as well.

"Lieutenant Athena." Sire Uri acknowledged, his frown revealing his displeasure at the junior officer's deliberate slight. "I must admit to being somewhat surprised that Commander Adama would not have taken the time to personally greet half of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve. At the very least I would have expected Colonel Tigh to be here, instead of a mere lieutenant—even if that lieutenant does happen to be his daughter."

"The Commander and Colonel both have many critical issues that they must deal with, Sire Uri." Siress Tinia interrupted, giving the young lieutenant a half smile. "I'm sure that it was in no way intended as a deliberate slight or insult—right lieutenant?" The Siress turned her gaze towards Athena, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Of course, not, Siress." Athena replied.

"There that should resolve the matter." Speaking rapidly so as not to give Sire Uri a chance to continue his protest, The Siress guided Athena to a distinguished middle-aged man wearing a maroon robe. "I would like to introduce you to a new member of the Quorum." Siress Tinia announced, This is Sire Zarek, besides being just recently elected to the Quorum by Sagittara, he was the Astrophysics Chair at the University of Sagittara."

"It is an honor to meet you, Sire." Athena greeted with genuine respect, "I've read your papers on wormhole physics and string theory."

"And I have read a couple of your essays dealing with the philosophy of science, I especially found your essay regarding the ethical and moral dimensions accompanying the creation of artificial intelligence deep and profound. In many ways, it is a pity that you did not continue in academia. You could easily have been on your way to becoming one of our most acclaimed philosophers."

"Th...Th...Thank you, Sir." Athena stammered, genuinely touched by such praise from as prominent a scientist as Sire Zarek. "I'm honored."

"No." The scientist and philosopher shook his head, "It is I who am honored. It truly is a shame that this cataclysm has made it a necessity for our youth to bear arms rather than the pen. Perhaps when we reach Earth, we can return to our true loves."

"As fascinating as this discussion is..." Sire Uri, barely disguising his petulance, interjected, "We have a ship to inspect. Please...lead the way, Lieutenant."

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"The region of space we are about to enter, Commander, is extremely unstable." Dr. Wilker stated as he pointed to a map of the sector on the wall behind him.

"Why is this region of space so unstable?" Commander Adama asked

"To answer your question, Commander, I think it's because of a combination of the presence of this black hole..." Wilker displayed on the map along with other elements."

"What other elements?"

"Well…" Wilker replied, "The black hole seems to have interacted in some manner with a cosmic string and that has had the effect of rendering this particular area of space subject to some very interesting cosmic anomalies."

"What sort of anomalies?" Adama inquired.

"Wormholes leading to other parts of this universe...or to other universes..." Wilker speculated, "Possibly white holes, gravitational waves, wavefunction collapse, quantum decoherence, and that's just a few of the possibilities I can think of off the top of my head."

"We can't go back because of the Cylons." Adama stated. "But going forward leads to its own dangers..."

"Going around, however..." Dr. Wilker pointed out, "Would add jahrens to our voyage and that there would be no guarantee that we would be able to find suitable worlds for replenishment."

"Not to mention greatly increasing the odds of further encounters with the Cylons." Commander Adama reluctantly conceded.

"We need to get far more precise readings as to gravimetric and radiation levels than we've gotten so far from our probes. Also, we need to know what effects such close proximity to the event horizon of a black hole would have on the human body."

"Good point." Adama concurred, "Most of the ships of the Fleet have only the most rudimentary of radiation shields—there's no way they would survive a prolonged exposure to what I'm sure has to be intense radiation."

"If you'll check my calculations, Commander…" Wilker interjected, handing a minicomputer to the silver haired Adama, "You'll find that I've ascertained that there should be a secure corridor that we can travel through where the radiation and gravimetric levels should remain at safe levels…"

"Should remain?" Commander Adama repeated, his voice tone reflecting his doubt.

"I think you'll find, Commander..." Wilker argued, "That while a passage through the sector is not without risk, is indeed not only possible, but compared to the alternatives, the most logical solution."

"Barely safe." Adama contended, "And only for a limited duration."

"True." Wilker acknowledged, "But still within tolerance levels and we should have enough time to traverse the corridor even traveling at the speed of the slowest vessel of the fleet."

"I don't know…" Adama whispered, "I'm still not convinced that it's worth taking the risk…"

Clearing his throat, Wilker ventured, "Maybe if we sent a reconnaissance viper outfitted with instruments to investigate?"

"It might work…" Adama replied, carefully weighing the positives and negatives. "It would be incredibly dangerous for the pilot though…"

"Commander, your pilots are amongst the best." Dr. Wilker pointed out, "They are trained to take these kinds of risks."

"I know!" The paternalistic Adama acknowledged. Still unwilling to send one of his Warriors on what was most likely a suicide mission, he continued to look for objections. "The problem is, Doctor, right now we don't have anyone ready to go that's qualified for this mission. Apollo and Starbuck are on long range patrol, while Jolly and Stringbean have just returned from their patrol and are no condition to go. That leaves just Boomer and he's..."

"Neither Boomer nor the others are qualified anyway." Dr. Wilker interrupted, much to Adama's surprise. "I've taken the liberty of checking through the roster of the available warriors and have found only one candidate who possesses both the necessary piloting skills and the scientific ability to be able to successfully carry out this mission."

Immediately recognizing who the scientist was talking about, Adama shook his head rapidly, "

"No…" Adama demurred, "No. No. NO! It's too risky…"

"Athena is a most capable young Warrior and scientist." Dr. Wilker declared, not yielding ground to the concerned parent. "Please, Commander...have faith in her and trust her to do the job."

"It's not that I don't have faith in her abilities..." Adama began only to be interrupted by Wilker.

"It's that you don't want to see any harm come to her." I understand. But, Commander. she is the only one qualified to do this—there is no one else. Apollo, Starbuck, and Boomer cannot do this. While they are highly skilled pilots, they do not possess the necessary scientific knowledge—especially in the physical sciences. And while I and others possess the scientific knowledge, we are not pilots—we would not be able to navigate through the narrow corridor safely. Commander, it has to be her."

"Very well…" The wise leader replied in a gentle, yet regretful tone, "The mission is hers. I will personally inform her once she completes her current assignment."

"Thank you, Commander." Wilker replied, his eyes downcast as he realized that he had most likely convinced the Commander to send his own daughter to her death.

"Don't thank me." Adama replied as he rose to his feet, "I wouldn't do this if there were any other way."

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"And this concludes our tour." Athena sighed as they returned where they had started over three centaures ago. "I hope you found everything to your satisfaction."

"I most certainly did." A sympathetic Siress Tinia responded.

"As did I." Sire Zarek added, "I realize that our presence here was an imposition and I appreciate your indulging us with your time and expertise."

"Thank you, Sire...Siress." A genuinely touched Athena responded, only to have her good mood dashed by Sire Uri's caustic remarks.

"Apparently, you did not consider the bridge to be worthy of our time and attention, Lieutenant."

"My apologies, Sire Uri, but the bridge at the present time is undergoing diagnostic checks." Turning to the other members of the Quorum, Athena explained, "While maintenance is an ongoing concern, we especially like to use quiet periods such as now to carry out any extensive maintenance inspections and overhauls that might arise. The bridge at present would be rather..."

"Chaotic?" Siress Tinia suggested with a small chuckle.

"Yes, Siress." Athena agreed, taking the Siress' lifeline.

"Then it would probably be for the best that we not disturb them while they are performing their duties, wouldn't you agree, Sires? Siresses?"

Hearing an overwhelming number of murmured approvals, Sire Uri reluctantly conceded, "We all want the _Galactica_ and its crew to be at peak readiness and, naturally, would not want to interfere with that." Sighing, the Sire finally admitted defeat, "Thank you for your time, Lieutenant. Farewell for now."

Watching as the dignitaries departed, Athena heaved a sigh of relief as a Warrior cadet approached her. "Lieutenant?" The cadet introduced himself, "Commander Adama wishes to see you in his quarters at your earliest convenience."

Knowing that her father's 'earliest convenience' was most likely two centons ago, Athena nodded her head. "Thank you, Cadet. I'm on my way." As she walked towards the lift, the young lieutenant sighed, "This just isn't my frakking day."

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As she stood before the door of her father's quarters, Athena took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Straightening her shoulders, the lieutenant pressed the chime.

"Come in." Her father's rich voice responded. Upon seeing his lovely daughter walking in, Adama rose to his feet. "Please, Athena, have a seat." He urged, gesturing to a comfortable chair in front of his desk. As Athena took her seat, she watched as her father poured ambrosia into two glasses. Looking at the bottle much more closely, the raven-haired beauty was surprised to see that this was one of her father's most prized vintages, dating back at least three hundred yahren. Handing one glass to his daughter, he kept the other for himself as he returned to his seat behind the desk.

"I hear compliments are in order for your diplomatic talents." Adama grinned as he sipped his ambrosa.

"Father?" Athena exclaimed with raised eyebrows.

Laughing, the Commander explained. "I received a brief missive from Siress Tinia stating that you did an excellent job seeing to our visiting dignitaries needs while at the same time keeping them from interfering with the smooth running of the ship. She said that you did a masterful job in keeping Sire Uri at least...in her words...only mildly peeved."

Chuckling now herself, Athena sipped her ambrosa, allowing its smooth and mellow taste to dance over her taste buds. "Thank you, Father, but I don't think that's why you've asked me to see you."

"No." The Commander shook his head gravely, "It isn't." Pausing to take a deep breath and then exhaling, the old man took another sip from his ambrosa before continuing. "Believe me, my daughter..." He said in a solemn, melancholy voice, "If there were any other alternatives...any other way...I would gladly take it rather than having to do what I am going to have to do."

Athena sipped her ambrosa as she felt her stomach tightening. "What do you mean, Father? Did I do something wrong? Am I in some sort of trouble?"

"No...NO!" Adama exclaimed as he reached over to place a paternal hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You're not in any sort of trouble at all. It's just that..." He explained, "A situation has come up. A situation for which you are uniquely qualified to deal with."

Her heart beating faster, Athena inquired, "What sort of situation, Father."

"According to Dr. Wilker..." The Commander explained as he sipped his ambrosa, "We are entering an area of very unstable space. Apparently a black hole is interacting with a cosmic string."

As the physicist in Athena took in the news, she nodded her head as she sipped her drink, "That can cause a whole host of anomalies. Wormholes...gravitational waves..."

"Yes." Commander Adama interrupted, "Dr. Wilker mentioned all those things."

"Such unstable phenomena could be very dangerous for the fleet." Athena pointed out.

"I quite agree." Adama concurred. "However, we don't really have a choice. We can't go back..."

"The Cylons." Athena finished, nodding her head.

"Right." Adama affirmed. "We also can't go around. It would add too many yahren to our journey. We have no choice but to go through. Dr. Wilker believes that there is a safe corridor where the radiation would not be lethal to the fleet—provided we moved through it in as rapid a manner as possible."

"You'll need more concrete information and data." Athena pointed out. "Probes and instruments taken from observations at a distance won't do."

"I concur." Adama stated. "We need to send a reconnaissance viper to carry out a more detailed survey and map out the safest route."

Seeing where her father was headed, Athena took a quick drink from her glass to hide her growing excitement. "You would need someone who can both fly and is knowledgeable in physics." Pausing for a moment, she announced, "I would like to volunteer, Sir."

"I figured you would." Adama remarked as he looked on with pride at his daughter. "I want to make sure though, that you fully understand the risks."

"I do Father." Athena replied in a solemn voice, "And I accept them." She then added as she finished her ambrosa, "And Father...thank you. For having faith in me and trusting me.

"Don't thank me, my daughter" the worried parent said, shaking his head sadly, "There is a very high probability that I have just sent you on a suicide mission. It will take at least one cycle for the recon viper to be outfitted with the special shielding and instruments you'll need. That time's yours to do with as you wish."

"Thank you, Father." The dark haired woman replied as she pivoted about and left the meeting room, her soaring heart now making her steps seem much lighter than they were earlier in the day.

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"That's my girl!" Deitra praised as Athena broke the news to her about her upcoming mission. A mischievous smirk coming to her lips, the chocolate-skinned pilot teased, "You gonna buy the house a round of ambrosa?"

"Yeah..." Athena smiled back, "I guess I will." Going to the bartender, she slipped him her credit chit. Nodding his head as he withdrew the appropriate amount of cubits from her account, the barman called out, "This round is on Lieutenant Athena!"

"To Athena!" Stringbean shouted out, his cheer soon echoed by everyone else in the rejuvenation center. The lanky pilot then toasted, "May she return to us in triumph!"

"Hear...Hear!" Bojay called out as the other pilots cheered on their fellow Warrior.

Entering the rejuvenation center to the sound of cheering, Boomer very quickly discovered the target of the cheers standing at the bar drinking her ambrosa. "Athena!" The dark-skinned Warrior called out, "Can I have a word with you?"

"Sure, Boomer." Athena responded as she met her brother's squadron mate at an empty table. "What do you want to talk about? And please..." She warned, "Don't try to talk me out of going on this mission."

"I'm not going to try to talk you out of it." Boomer replied with a worried frown, "I know better than that. Apollo and Starbuck would disagree with me, but I know that you are the best qualified to do this."

"Thank you, Boomer." Athena smiled warmly as she regarded her friend, "You don't know how good that makes me feel."

"Thank me by coming back." Boomer responded, chuckling, "Now when your brother and Starbuck hear the news..." The rejuvenation chamber suddenly fell silent as an elderly woman entered the room, her every step exhibiting grace and dignity. "A Seeress..." Boomer proclaimed with a hushed voice.

"They almost never leave their shrines." Athena whispered. "I wonder what she's doing here."

"I think we're about to find out." Boomer whispered as the Seeress approached the pair who fell to their knees in respect.

"Seeress..." Athena greeted with respect, "You honor us with your presence."

"No..." The elderly woman shook her head as she spoke kindly the younger woman kneeling before her. "It is I who am honored, my child. I have words for you...if you would deign to hear them."

"I..." Athena stammered, "I...would be honored. Please, speak your words."

Closing her eyes, the elderly woman laid her hands on Athena's head as if delivering a benediction or blessing. "Child of Isis. Isis reborn. Your true home awaits. The journey shall commence anew. The Temptress comes in the dark and leaves in the light. Child to mother...mother to child. Children find their parents. Parents find their children. The Children of Man meet the Children of the Serpent. Those like yet not like unite in common cause. Isis and the Temptress. Isis the reconciler. Isis bringer of life." Removing her hands, the old woman bade the pair to arise, "I must depart now...as soon you must, my child. May the Lords of Kobol guide your path."

"That was...different." Boomer remarked in a low voice as the Seeress departed the rejuvenation chamber. ""What was all that she was talking about? Isis this and Isis that? Children of men? Children of chaos? And who is the Temptress? Cassiopeia?"

"I don't know." Athena replied, shaking her head, "I wonder what she meant by 'true home awaits.'"

"Sounds kind of ominous if you ask me." Boomer declared and then asked half in jest, "You sure you don't want me to take your place?"

"I'm sure." Athena strongly asserted, "Not only am I the only one qualified to do this. I have to do this. Not just to show you, Starbuck, Father, Colonel Tigh, and my brother that I'm capable of doing it." Raising her hand to cut off the objection forming on Boomer's lips, Athena continued, "I have to do this for myself."

"I guess I understand." Seeing Brie and Deitra waving for Athena, Boomer smiled. "Well...I better let you get back to your revels. I'll see you tomorrow before you launch."

"Take care, Boomer!" Athena smiled and waved as her friend departed. Returning to the two women seated close by, the dark haired beauty smiled, "Ok girls, so where were we?"

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"That's what she said." Boomer said, repeating the Seeress' prophecy to a thoughtful Adama. What do you think it means, Sir?"

"I'm not completely sure." The Commander confessed. "Isis was supposed to have been one of the wives—the primary wife, in fact—of the First Lord of Kobol, but little now is known of her. Children of the Serpent could be referring to the Cylons." Adama hypothesized. "After all, they were descended from a reptilian race."

"That sounds logical." Boomer agreed. "But who...or what...are the Children of Man?"

"That's a good question." The Commander mused. And one that has me baffled—along with the rest of the prophesy." Taking a deep breath, the philosophical Adama remarked ruefully, "The unfortunate thing about prophesies is that we often don't understand what they mean until it is too late and what they have prophesied has already happened."

"So..." Boomer inquired, "What should we do? Scrub the mission?"

"No." Adama shook his head, "We can't do that. We are committed to this course. The mission proceeds as scheduled."

Shaking his head, Boomer remarked with a crooked grin, "Apollo and Starbuck will be getting back from their patrol soon. When they find out, they're going to hit the ceiling."

"You let me worry about my son and Starbuck." Adama retorted with a grin, "You just go and get some rest. You're on patrol early tomorrow."

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"What the frak do you think you're doing?" Storming into the locker room, the commander of Red Squadron, Captain Apollo, demanded as he confronted his younger sister. "Trying to get yourself killed?" Then, pointing his finger at the dark haired woman, who was in the process of putting on the brown jacket marking her as a Colonial Warrior, he shouted, "I'm scrubbing you from this mission."

"You can't do that, Apollo!" Athena declared in a flat, defiant tone. " Father was going to ask me to do this mission before I even volunteered." Softening her voice, she said, "He knows, and I think you know too, that I'm the only one qualified to do it."

"Yeah, I know…" Apollo replied softly. "Father filled me in on the details—and rejected my request to go in your place."

"Apollo..." Athena pleaded in a conciliatory tone, "I know you and Starbuck are the better pilots—right now. But I am a good pilot. Better than pretty much anyone else in the squadron other than the two of you and Boomer. And you know that before the Cylon attack I was well on my way to my philosophical doctorate in physics."

"I know..." Apollo reluctantly concurred, "But..." He began, still refusing to give up.

"But what?" Athena demanded. "Are you telling me I'm not competent enough?" Putting her hands on her hips, Athena spat out, "Well everyone but you disagrees with that assessment! So, why is it that I'm almost never on the flight rotation—and when I am—it's never on vipers, even though I am fit?"

Momentarily at a loss for words, Apollo stammered, "It's because…it's because…"

"It's because I'm your sister—right?" Athena supplied, "And it's because of Zak…" She finished, her voice softening. Seeing her brother's head droop momentarily at the mention of their fallen sibling, Athena gently caressed his cheek. "Apollo, I feel the same way about you every time you go out on a mission while I'm stuck on the bridge, but I realize that you have to go. Well, this time it's my turn to go out while you stay on the bridge." Taking a deep breath, she finished, "You're just going to have to trust in the training that you and Starbuck gave me—after all…" She finished with a smile as she gave her brother a hug, "I learned from the best."

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"Recon One ready to launch," Athena reported in as calm and measured a voice as she could muster.

Flight Corporal Rigel, more than a little nervous as her eyes darted about the bridge, noting especially the presence not only of Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh, but also of both Starbuck and Apollo cleared her throat as she issued the command, "Launch viper."

Taking a deep breath, Athena she felt her body slam back into its seat as her craft sped down the launch tube and into space. "Moving to position." The lieutenant reported as she smoothly guided the control stick of her craft towards the anomalous region of space that she was to observe. "Instruments active. Dr. Wilker was right—this is an area of very high energy. Alpha and beta radiation are both at very high levels, and the gravitational forces are almost off the scale." Then, her lips turning up into a smile, she observed, "I've found what looks like an area of relatively low radiation, am going to investigate…"

"Exercise caution, Lieutenant…" Apollo directed from _Galactica's_ bridge.

"Understood, Sir." Athena replied, carefully keeping her voice tone as neutral as possible. Then, as she examined her instrument readings, her grin returned, "Tell the doctor he's right again—there does seem to be a corridor with high—but barely acceptable—levels of radiation. We would need to move our ships through quickly though. The readings in the corridor seem to be changing at an irregular rate—I think it might be due to the forces being exerted by the black hole and cosmic string acting on each other. The gravitational waves are phenomenal and I'm picking up on some intriguing quantum singularities."

"Fascinating!" Dr. Wilker, who was also on the bridge, remarked. "Can you get some more detailed readings on those singularities, Lieutenant?"

"Belay that, Lieutenant." Apollo interjected. "You've gotten what we've come for. Return to the ship, now."

"Request permission to continue the experiments." Athena radioed back. "I think I can get the readings safely."

"Those readings could be most important and valuable, Commander." Dr. Wilker pleaded, "We might never get an opportunity like this again."

"I disagree, Sir." Apollo objected. "We've already accumulated yahrens worth of data. Keeping her out any longer would be tempting fate needlessly."

"Commander..." Athena pleaded over the radio, "I can do it."

With great reluctance, Adama gave his consent, "Very well, Recon One. Proceed with caution. Get the readings and then return to _Galactica_."

"Yes Sir," The young officer confirmed as she pivoted her craft around. Alarm klaxons suddenly blaring, Athena called out, "_Galactica_. My instruments' readings are off the scale. A quantum anomaly seems to be forming near me. _Galactica_, do you hear me?"

Hearing static with the occasional bits of words coming through, Rigel repeated, "Recon One, repeat your last message…"

"_Galacti_..."

"Sir!" Bridge officer Omega called out—I think I can get a picture from one of our probes.

"Put it on." Tigh ordered through clenched teeth.

"Aye Sir." The bridge officer acknowledged as the screen came on to reveal a beautiful multi-colored swirling object. "A wormhole." Omega immediately observed.

"_Galactica_…" Athena called out, her craft shaking and shimmering as the swirling anomaly grow larger and larger. "I'm being pulled in!"

As her craft was pulled into the wormhole, Adama and the others on _Galactica's_ bridge heard one last scream through speakers and then—the crackle of static. Turning to his father, Apollo requested, "Father! I'd like to permission to take out a rescue party..."

"It's too dangerous, son." The silver-haired commander somberly replied as he shook his head, "I can't risk losing you as well."

"Please, father!" The youthful Colonial Warrior pleaded, "We can do it with a medical shuttle and two vipers. The med. shuttle is already shielded to withstand radiation. Please..." Apollo begged, "At least allow me to make one sweep!"

Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, Commander Adama nodding his head, reluctantly granted his assent, "Very well, Apollo. One pass and one pass only. You're to pilot the shuttle. Take Cassiopeia for your med tech, if she's willing. Starbuck and Boomer will fly escort. Go...and bring your sister home."

"Yes, sir!" Apollo exclaimed as he motioned with his hand to his best friend, "C'mon Starbuck. Let's move."

"Right behind you." The roguish blond pilot responded as he joined the other viper pilot in racing for the bridge exit.

Watching the two young men as they dashed off, Commander Adama's lips moved in prayer for his daughter, his son, and the young man he had grown to think of as a son, "May the Lords of Kobol watch after you and guide all of you back home."


	2. Chapter 2

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Chapter 2

As she passed the wall of photos placed by those looking for missing relatives, a hooded figure noticed the leaflets placed on a small table by one of the _Galactica_ crewmen. Curious, the figure picked up one of the leaflets and read it. Noticing Brother Cavil's name, the figure barely suppressed a chuckle. _Might be interesting. I think I'll show up a little late though—just in case a bigger crowd shows up than the good Brother had planned._

"You're late." Brother Cavil scolded the newcomer as the last of the Cylons originally at the meeting, a Six that had taken on the persona of a prostitute, departed.

"I had to be careful." The petite woman responded as she lifted her hood to reveal herself as an Eight, but with hair cut short and dyed bright red and wearing make up with eye shadow and blush.

"Understandable." A surprised Cavil replied. "We don't want to risk endangering our undercover asset yet." His curiosity aroused, the One inquired, "How did you find yourself on the _Galactica_?"

"Purely by accident." The Eight responded. I had taken on the cover of an independent courier under the name Callista long before our attack. One of the officers on board the _Galactica_ was involved in some rather interesting business investments and I was supposed to deliver the paperwork for him to sign and then return. Then, our attack happened and I ended up stranded here."

"So, how did you avoid being ID'ed as Boomer?" Cavil asked.

As she took her robe off, Callista revealed herself wearing a low cut tight violet dress. "I give them something else other than my face to look at." She responded, further explaining, "Usually, they're too busy looking at my ass, legs, and tits to give my face a second glance. If they do...well...the makeup helps. I've also altered my accent and voice where I speak with more of a Libran inflection. And...if they do ask...I just tell them I don't know who they're talking about...have never met Sharon Valerii...and wouldn't know her if she came up and bit me on the face."

"And that works?" Cavil asked with a look of astonishment on his face.

"Oh yes." Callista smirked. "The key in doing a disguise is to just alter things in little ways...the way you walk...talk...gestures. Hairstyling and color...clothing...all those little things that don't sound important, but are. Usually, that's all that's necessary to fool someone."

"I'll have to keep that in mind." Cavil mused as he considered the possibilities. "So...you have a courier ship?"

"A small vessel." Callista nodded her head. It's even jump capable."

"But you don't have access to it?" Cavil noted, his eyes squinting.

Realizing that her continued existence in her current body probably depended on her answer, Callista carefully responded. "I have a plan to get it back."

"Let's hear this plan." Cavil demanded as he leaned back in his chair.

"I have a meeting set up with Captain Kelly, the Flight Officer and the number three officer in Galactica's chain of command. I'm going to pitch the idea to him that it would be a good idea for the Fleet to have a courier service—someone who's not in the _Galactica_ chain of command—to deliver correspondence or packets from one ship to another that cannot be transmitted via radio and that they might not want to have go through official or military channels."

"Think he'll go for it?" A dubious Cavil inquired.

"If I sell it right." Callista replied.

"All right." Cavil nodded his head, "Go ahead and make your pitch and let me know how it turns out."

"Will do." Callista acknowledged as she rose to her feet. Noticing the expression on the One's face as she slipped the robe back on, she explained. "Refugees from Gemenon were flooding the corridor. Remember..." She smirked, "Adapt the disguise to the situation."

Watching as the Eight exited the chapel, Brother Cavil nodded his head approvingly. "She might work out."

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"Thank you for taking time out of your day to meet with me, Captain Kelly." Callista smiled as she held out her hand to the flight officer."

"Please...come in." The captain smiled in return as he took the redheaded woman's hand in his. "Have a seat." He urged, gesturing to the chair opposite his utilitarian desk. Sitting down in his chair, the flight officer opened a file and read the papers within it. "So...according to this, you'd like us to release your courier ship from impound so that you can resume your service?"

"Yes, Captain." Callista nodded her head. "I think I can perform a useful service not only to the _Galactica_ if I'm permitted to resume my courier route, but also to the Fleet."

"In what ways?" Kelly inquired.

"Well..." The Eight smiled as she launched her sales pitch. "As you're aware, Fleet security—especially when we're dealing with artificial intelligences is of primary importance. Transmitting sensitive information—no matter how carefully encrypted—can carry great risk."

"There's always the option of sending the information via raptor or shuttle." Kelly pointed out.

"True." Callista nodded her head, "But there are times in which the use of a private courier would be safer and more...discreet. Also, the President or her staff might want to make use of a private courier to transmit information unobtrusively. And, my services would also be available to other individuals or bodies—strictly legal, of course—within the civilian or military sectors of the Fleet. Everyone stands to gain from this, Captain."

"Well...your CV certainly looks good." Kelly commented, "I'll have to run this through the Commander for final approval." The flight officer cautioned, "But...based on what I've seen and heard today, I don't really see a problem with your request being granted. I'll be in touch with you within a day with the Commander's decision. Is there a contact number or name I can reach you at?"

"Yes." Callista smiled as she got up out of her chair and took the captain's hand, "You can reach me at the Chapel. Brother Cavil has been generous enough to put me up for a couple of days until I get sorted out."

"I'll see you then." Kelly grinned as Callista turned to walk away. "Oh!" He exclaimed, almost as an afterthought, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but you look vaguely familiar. You've never served in the Colonial Fleet or the Reserves, have you?"

"No." Callista shook her head as she smiled, "I'm sorry, I've never served. Why do you ask?"

"You just look like someone I know." Kelly replied with a grin.

"Funny." Callista chuckled, "I get that a lot. Guess I have a face everyone knows."

"Guess so." Kelly laughed.

"Well...Captain...have a good day and I look forward to hearing from you soon."

"You too."

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Putting on his glasses, Commander William Adama examined the request handed to him by Captain Kelly and its accompanying file. "Hmmm...I don't see any problem with granting her request." Adama commented as he signed off on the paperwork. "Her services could be useful to the Fleet. Go ahead and release her ship from impound and tell her she's in business."

"Yes, Sir." Kelly acknowledged with a salute before carrying out a precise about face and exiting the Commander's quarters.

Entering the Chapel, Kelly immediately spotted Brother Cavil, apparently rousting a little boy from his makeshift hiding place. "Brother?" The captain called out.

"Ah...yes, Captain. Is there anything I can do for you?" The holy man inquired as he ushered the flight officer into the chapel.

"No, Brother." Kelly replied as the little boy slipped out of the chapel. "I was wondering if Callista was in...I have news for her regarding her ship."

"I'm afraid she's out for the moment..."

"I'm back!" Callista called out as she entered the chapel. "Just had to run a few errands." She said as she placed a bag of produce on the table. "Have to earn my keep." She smiled. Regarding the Captain, the Eight asked, "Do you have word about my ship? Did the Commander say it was all right?"

"Yes...and, yes." Kelly smiled back. "Commander Adama has released your ship from impound. Just take this paper to Chief Tyrol on the Flight Deck and he'll get you set up."

"Thank you!" Callista replied, flashing her most winning grin. "If there's anything I can do to repay you..."

"Don't mention it." The Captain responded, "I was glad to help."

"I insist on doing something to express my appreciation." Callista answered back, "How about dinner once I get settled in? Nothing fancy...just my way of saying thank you."

After several moments of giving the matter thought, Kelly nodded his head, "Sure. Just let me know when you want to and it's a date."

"Great!" Callista smiled as she extended her hand, "I'll talk to you later, then."

"You're not seriously considering getting involved with that...human...are you?" Cavil grumbled in a low voice once he was sure that the human officer had left the chapel.

"Of course not." Callista laughed, "At least not seriously. But...he could be useful..."

"There is that." The One considered, "All right. Go ahead and spin your little web and we'll see where it leads us." Smiling, he poured red wine into two glasses. Handing one of the glasses to her, Cavil's lips turned up in an evil grin as he sat down. "You know, had you have not pulled this off, I was going to have you take a walk out the airlock and inform our fleet of _Galactica_'s location, but now...I think I have a job that's just suited for your unique talents."

"Tell me more." Callista responded as she sipped her wine.

"There's one of us—a Four—on the Gemonese ship, _Cybele_, whom we've been having difficulty contacting. I need to have you deliver a message to him and then return."

"Not a problem." Callista responded. "Where's the message and how soon do you want it delivered?"

"Here," Cavil replied as he handed Callista an unaddressed white envelope. "And here's the contact information. He's currently a doctor working in the med ward on that ship. Deliver it to him as soon as possible and return."

"Got it." She said as she finished the wine. "Well. I better go down and meet this Chief Tyrol and get my ship back."

"A word of warning." Cavil called to her as she neared the exit, "It seems Tyrol is involved with our undercover Eight. Watch yourself."

"I will." Callista promised as she departed.

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As she walked on to the flight deck wearing her flight suit, Callista pretended to ignore the occasional curious glances coming her way, adding a subtle sway to her hips as she walked. Approaching one of the knuckle-draggers, she asked for directions to Chief Tyrol.

"Hello." Callista smiled as she greeted the tall dark haired crewman, "Could you tell me where Chief Tyrol is?"

"Huh?" Specialist Socinus exclaimed as he extricated himself from his task of rebuilding a damaged viper's engine. "Wha..." He stammered as he saw the redheaded woman standing before him.

"I asked you if you could tell me where Chief Tyrol is?" Callista repeated, widening her smile.

"Ummmm...over there..." He pointed, "Working on Boomer's raptor."

"Thanks." Callista replied as she turned about and departed.

"Damn!" Socinus gasped as he gazed at Callista's rear.

"Yeah...that is mighty fine." Jammer remarked as his eyes also fell on those gently swaying hips.

"No...not just the ass that doesn't quit." Socinus chuckled. "But did you get a good look at her?"

"No...I was too busy working on those damned thrusters." Jammer retorted, "Why?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Socinus replied, "It's nothing. I just thought she resembled someone I knew."

"Maybe one of those bimbos you always seem to end up with on shore leave." Jammer joked.

"Probably." Socinus chuckled as he turned back to the damaged viper both men had been working on. "Anyway...we better get back to this bird before the Chief has our butts for dinner."

"Right." Jammer replied as the two knuckledraggers returned to their task.

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"Good hustle!" A voice called out from the damaged raptor Callista was approaching. "If I could give you a raise, I would!"

"Thanks, Chief." Giana replied as she immediately set about working on the craft's damaged gimbals.

"Excuse me?" Callista cleared her throat, "I was told to speak to a Chief Tyrol about getting my ship out of impound.

"I'm Chief Tyr...Shar..." The burly chief's eyes widened as he push himself out from under the raptor.

"Excuse me." Callista quickly interrupted.

Shaking his head, Chief Tyrol wiped the grease from his face as he regarded the redheaded woman standing before him. "I could swear that you look like someone I know."

"I've been getting that a lot recently on this ship." Callista chuckled.

"Do you know someone named Sharon Valerii?" The Chief asked as he rose to his feet.

"Sorry." Callista replied, shaking her head, "Never heard that name before. Why?"

"Well...you two bear a remarkable resemblance." Tyrol declared, "I'd almost swear you were sisters."

"My family all died on Libran." Callista responded in a carefully calculated soft tone of voice. "I never got the chance to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry." Chief Tyrol replied, "I didn't mean..."

"It's all right." Callista said, "All we can do now is keep on...isn't it?"

"Yeah." The Chief responded with a nod of his head. Getting back to business, Tyrol asked, "So...which ship is it?"

"My courier ship." Callista replied, "I call her _Aurora_."

"Good name." Tyrol smiled as the two walked to the parts room that also doubled as the Chief's office. "Do you have the paperwork?"

"Yeah. Right here." Callista smiled as she handed the documents to the Chief.

Examining the documents, Tyrol nodded his head. "Well...everything looks to be in order. The Commander and Captain Kelly have both signed off on it. All right." He said as he added his signature to the forms, taking one copy. "I'll have Cally remove the locks and the _Aurora_'s yours."

"Thanks, Chief." Callista exclaimed as she retrieved her papers. "If it's all right with you, I'll go and file my flight plan and get cleared for launch while that's taken care of."

"Sure thing." Tyrol responded as Callista walked away. Shaking his head, he turned to Giana, "I could have sworn she was Sharon's sister. But not with that accent—she's definitely Libran."

Callista didn't have to wait long as clearance was soon granted and the locks removed by a pixyish brown haired deckhand who introduced herself as Cally. Taking her seat at the controls of her speedster, the Eight lovingly caressed the control panel as she slipped on her headset. "Hi, baby...miss me? Well...we got work to do...you ready to get started? . _Aurora _to _Galactica_ Flight Control." Callista spoke into her mic., "Requesting clearance to take off on filed flight path."

"_Galactica _Flight Control to _Aurora_." Smirking as she heard Captain Kelly's voice coming through her headphones, Callista listened as he approved her departure, "You're clear for takeoff. Have a safe trip."

"Will do, Flight Control. See you later." Feeling a lurch as the courier ship lifted off the hangar deck and exited the battlestar's hangar bay, the Cylon breathed a sigh of relief as she departed the _Galactica_. Setting course for the _Cybele_, Callista relaxed. "Well, girl..." She said, speaking to her ship, "Looks like we're back in business again."

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"How's my bird, Chief?" Lieutenant Sharon "Boomer" Valerii inquired as she and her new ECO, Lieutenant Alex "Crashdown" Quataroro approached the Senior Chief who was, at that time, just wrapping up work on the craft.

"She's ready to go, Sir." The Chief replied, carefully keeping his voice tone as neutral and professional as possible. "The gimbals have been realigned and are working properly and everything's shipshape."

"Thank you, Chief." Boomer acknowledged as she and her ECO entered the raptor. Taking her station in the pilot's seat as her ECO took his place, Sharon keyed her radio, "Raptor 231 to Flight...ready for takeoff."

"Cleared for takeoff Raptor 231." Captain Kelly responded. "Good hunting."

Clearing the _Galactica's_ hangar deck, Boomer at once set her course. "Raptor 231..._Galactica_. Beginning patrol pattern."

"_Galactica_...Raptor 231." Petty Officer Dualla responded, "Confirmed. Good hunting."

"Well, Crashdown..." Sharon said as she relaxed in her seat, "Let's hope the next four hours are boring."

"You can have boring." Crashdown jibed, "I'm hoping something turns up."

Shaking her head, Sharon muttered under her breath, "Rooks..."

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Landing on the _Cybele_, Callista quickly found someone able to give her directions to the medbay. Entering the infirmary, she quickly found the person to whom she was to deliver her message entering data on a chart, smirking as she recognized him as a Four. "Excuse me?" She cleared her throat.

"Yes?" Simon looked up and immediately recognized the Eight standing before him. Guardedly, he inquired, "What can I do for you?"

"Got a message for you." She said as she handed him the sealed envelope she was carrying.

"Do you know what the message says?" The Four asked as he reluctantly took the envelope from Callista's hand.

"Nope and I didn't ask." Callista replied, "I respect the confidentiality of my customers. That's how I stay in business."

"I see." Simon replied, "Well...am I supposed to tip you or something."

"Nah." Callista responded, "The customer's already paid. We're done here." She said as she turned to walk away. Pausing, she looked back at the Simon, "Look...it's none of my business what's going on with the two of you and I don't want to know. But...a piece of advice for what it's worth: Don't take Brother Cavil lightly. You know how pissy these Ones can be when they think you're not getting with the program." Her messages delivered, Callista walked away and back to her ship. Returning to her pilot's seat, she once again spoke to her vessel as she donned her headset, "Well babe...let's see if we can rustle up some more work."

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"_Galactica_? This is _Aurora_. Requesting return flight corridor from _Cybele_. ETA one hour, thirty minutes." Callista announced as she cleared _Cybele_'s traffic control.

"_Aurora_..._Galactica_." Kelly responded, "You have an open corridor. Feeding coordinates into your nav. comp."

"Thank you, _Galactica_." Callista responded and then impishly remarked, "So, Aaron...Dinner tonight? My place?"

"The chapel?" Kelly responded.

"Negative." Callista replied with a chuckle, "I was thinking my ship. Got a nice little kitchen and dining chamber for two... interested?"

"Affirmative..." A red-faced Kelly replied to the amusement of the two enlisted ratings standing at their stations next to him. "8 o'clock?"

"It's a date." Callista replied as another voice, this one gravelly and stern, made its presence felt on the radio.

"_Galactica_ CIC to LSO and _Aurora_. Belay the social chatter. These channels are for official communications only."

"Roger, CIC," A chastened Captain Kelly responded.

"Confirmed, _Galactica_ CIC." Callista coolly responded, muttering under her breath, "Sourpuss."

Hearing the stifled laughter coming from Dee and Lieutenant Gaeta, Colonel Tigh growled into his mic., "Say again, _Aurora_?"

"ETA ninety minutes." Callista properly responded, "_Aurora_ out. You got those coordinates, babe?" Callista cooed as she confirmed that her navigational computer had received the coordinates for her new position in the Fleet. "Ok...let's get moving. Now..." She smirked as she leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up on the console, "What should I fix for dinner?"

A half hour into her trip, Callista's quiet reverie was rudely disrupted by her ship's alarm klaxon. "What the hells?" She exclaimed as she quickly sprang to alertness. "Give me a readout, babe. What's going on?"

"Sir?" Lieutenant Gaeta called out from his monitoring position. "Instruments and dradis are detecting a disturbance of some sort."

"What sort of disturbance?" Colonel Tigh demanded.

"Unknown, Sir." Lieutenant Gaeta replied. "The readings are completely off the charts."

"Dee?" Tigh called out to the communications specialist, "Get the Commander here, on the double."

"Aye, Sir." The dark skinned petty officer promptly responded.

"_Galactica_..._Aurora_. My ship is experiencing some sort of disturbance." Callista reported as her speedster shuddered, "And my instruments are off the scale."

"_Aurora_..._Galactica_." Dee responded. "You're in an area undergoing some sort of disturbance. Can you clear the area."

"I'm trying." Callista replied, "But my engines aren't responding." Just then, she looked up at her window, not believing what her eyes saw. "Holy Frak!"

"_Aurora...Galactica_.Please respond." Dee called out. _"Aurora_? Are you receiving my transmission?"

"Where's our nearest raptor?" Tigh requested.

"Raptor 231." Gaeta promptly replied, "Boomer and Crashdown."

"Good." Tigh acknowledged. "Have them investigate and be ready to perform SAR if need be."

"Raptor 231..._Galactica_. You are to proceed to _Aurora_'s last known coordinates, investigate and be ready to engage in SAR activities."

"Confirmed, _Galactica_." Boomer acknowledged as she altered her raptor's course. "Talk to me, Crashdown. What are you picking up?"

"I'm picking up the courier." Crashdown reported and..." Lieutenant Quataroro shook his head in disbelief.

"No!" Boomer exclaimed as a swirling anomaly slowly took shape near the courier. "Impossible!"

"Come on, girl!" Callista pleaded as the anomaly took form before her, "Get me outta here! I'm too young to download now! I've just gotten used to this body!"

"_Galactica_...Boomer. We're picking up some sort of...anomaly. The _Aurora_ is being pulled into it. What are your orders?"

"Tell Boomer to maintain station for now." Colonel Tigh ordered. Turning towards the dark haired Colonial officer manning the operations station, the crusty executive officer snapped, "Lieutenant Gaeta. Get Dr. Baltar up here. He's supposed to be our scientific genius—time for him to earn his frakking money."

"Yes, sir." The lieutenant responded as he contacted the scientist on the phone.

"Sir…" Petty Officer Dualla called out to _Galactica's _executive officer, Colonel Saul Tigh, "I'm getting another transmission…from the anomaly!"

"Put it on speakers, Lieutenant," The balding white haired colonel barked back.

Complying with her superior officer's orders, the dusky skinned officer flipped a switch. After a quick burst of static, all ears in the massive battlestar's Command and Control section heard, through the noise, "_Galactica_…this is Athena...I'm….being pulled in…tell my father, my brother, and Starbuck I..."

"What the hell?" Callista exclaimed as she also heard the transmission coming from the anomaly. And then...nothing...as Callista and the _Aurora_ entered the anomaly.

"What the hells was that?" Colonel Tigh shouted, only to be distracted as the door opened revealing the _Galactica_'s commanding officer. "Commander on deck!" Colonel Tigh called out as Commander Adama entered the giant warship's operations center.

"As you were." The Commander ordered as he approached his XO. "Sitrep?"

"Did you catch that transmission, Commander?" Tigh asked, gesturing for Petty Officer Dualla to repeat the transmission.

"Could it be coming from that courier ship?" Adama inquired as he put on his spectacles to read a computer printout handed to him by one of the CIC's specialists.

"No, Sir." The Colonel responded. The ship's name is _Aurora_ and its master a..." He then looked down on his clipboard, "Callista Stephens...Libran."

"It mentioned Starbuck. Did the courier know Lieutenant Thrace?" Adama asked.

"Unknown." Colonel Tigh shrugged his shoulders.

"Find out when you get the chance." Adama ordered as Boomer's voice came through the CIC speakers.

"_Galactica_...Raptor 231. The _Aurora_ has been pulled into the anomaly. Have lost contact. Orders?"

"Raptor 231..._Galactica _Actual." Commander Adama said as he grabbed a headset and spoke into the mic. "Keep your ship a safe distance from the anomaly and monitor."

"Confirmed, _Galactica_ Actual." Boomer promptly responded.

Putting his spectacles on, Adama, "Who's on station other than Boomer and Crashdown?"

"Starbuck and Apollo are flying CAP." Tigh promptly replied, adding, "I've ordered Dr. Baltar up here to try to shed what little light he probably can on whatever that thing is.

" Good." Adama replied, chuckling slightly at Tigh's remark about the quirky scientist. "And get me what information you can on that courier..." Taking a deep breath, the battle-scarred Commander added in a somber tone, "Especially if she has any family."

"Aye, Sir." An equally glum Colonel Tigh responded, adding quietly, "I believe she and Captain Kelly were beginning to see each other socially."

"I see." Adama replied, shaking his head. "Doesn't seem fair, does it, Saul?"

"No, Bill..." Tigh responded in a low voice, "It doesn't."

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Watching the anomaly from a safe distance, Sharon Valerii exclaimed in a soft voice as she became lost in the swirling pattern of the anomaly, "It's so beautiful."

"I've never seen anything like these readings." Crashdown, her ECO for this mission, remarked in an equally awe-struck tone.

"I wonder what it's doing out here?" Starbuck asked, her voice coming through the raptor's intercom as she and her wing leader took station near the raptor.

"I don't know…" Crashdown answered back, shaking his head in disbelief. "Theoretical science was never my thing."

"You know…" Sharon remarked in a serious tone, "I read somewhere that there are theories that wormholes and singularities might be connected to each other. If that's the case, then it might be possible to travel vast distances—to other galaxies—maybe even other universes."

"Maybe…" Crashdown answered back, "…provided the transit didn't kill you first…"

"Your pilots are very perceptive." Gaius Baltar, who had earlier arrived in the CIC, remarked to Commander Adama as he listened to the pilots' exchange over the _Galactica's_ radio. As he listened and read the printout containing the collected data, the phantom Six that had first appeared to him on Caprica and had been his near constant companion ever since idly played with a lock of his hair. His nerves tingling at the lovely ghost's touch, Baltar stammered excitedly, "That anomaly could be...probably is...a door into a completely different universe. Who knows what could be on the other side."

"_It might surprise you, Gaius._ The phantom Six purred as she blew in the scientist's ear.

"That's frakking nuts." The grizzled executive officer, now very much desiring a drink, snorted in derision.

"The existence of parallel universes has long been held as theoretically possible." Dr. Baltar countered as his spectral companion nodded her head mockingly. "While many of these alternate universes would probably be fatal for us—their laws of physics might differ from ours, for instance—many of them might be only slightly different from ours—really more alternate realities than anything else." The scientist, warming to the topic, lectured before an actively curious and interested Gaeta, a stone-faced, yet fascinated Adama and a much more skeptical and disbelieving Tigh.

"How many of these alternate realities are there, Doctor?" Commander Adama inquired.

"Potentially an infinite number." Gaius responded excitedly, "A very popular theory is that every choice...every decision...someone makes...creates alternate realities. For instance, what if you had decided to turn left one day instead of right and as a result, instead of meeting your wife for the first time, you met another woman—or ran into a truck."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Colonel Tigh guffawed only to be interrupted by Lieutenant Gaeta's polite clearing of his throat.

"Excuse me, sirs..." The young officer began tentatively.

"Go ahead, Mr. Gaeta." Commander Adama encouraged.

"I've read about the theory Dr. Baltar is talking about. It's a sound hypothesis. Basically, black holes and wormholes could well be conduits into separate realities—but the forces exerted within them..."

"Should literally discorporate anyone who got too close." Baltar finished, nodding his head in approval at the younger man.

"_Very good!" _The phantom Six clapped her hands as she kissed her lover on the back of his neck_. "But God might have His own ideas...listen..."_

"What the frak?" Lt. Kara Thrace called out she saw an object emerging from the wormhole, her excited voice immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the _Galactica_ CIC. "Something's coming out of that thing!

"I see it."" Apollo confirmed, and then addressing the raptor, "Boomer, do you know what that is? Is it the _Aurora_?"

"No, Apollo." Sharon answered back and then gasped, "I don't believe it…".

"Frak me!" Starbuck whispered as she drew close enough to get a visual. "It's a viper…"


	3. Chapter 3

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Chapter 3

"Say again," Commander Adama ordered as Starbuck's report came through the loudspeaker.

"I repeat, what looks like a Mark II Colonial viper came out of the anomaly," Starbuck's voice came through, confirming her earlier report.

"A Colonial viper?" Tigh repeated disbelievingly, "How the hell did a viper get all the way out here?"

"I'd say it probably came from one of those alternate realities you so casually dismissed." A smug Dr. Baltar replied

"I don't know if it came from this reality or another." Adama declared, "But I intend to find out." Turning his attention back to the phone, he spoke, "Boomer…_Galactica _Actual."

"_Galactica _Actual…Boomer." The raptor pilot crisply acknowledged.

"Boomer…" Adama instructed, "I want you to take that viper under tow." He then addressed the raptor's two escorts. "Starbuck…Apollo…stay close to Boomer and be ready to act if necessary."

"Understood, _Galactica_ Actual." All three pilots responded as they moved to carry out their orders. Turning back towards her ECO, Sharon called out, "Better get the grapple ready, Crashdown. Looks like we're going to have company."

"Colonel Tigh." Adama ordered, turning to his XO. I want you to go down to the flight deck and take personal charge of this. Find out what's going on, but don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Aye, Sir." The XO acknowledged as he turned to leave CIC, only to pause at Dr. Baltar's next words.

"Commander?" Dr. Baltar tentatively spoke up as his phantom lover nodded her head encouragingly, "It might be advisable, before we do anything, to set up a quarantine area—until we're absolutely sure there's no risk of contamination."

"Good idea." Adama nodded his head approvingly. "XO? Get with Doc. Cottle and Dr. Baltar and get it set up. I want everything in place by the time Boomer gets here with that viper."

"I'm on it." Tigh responded as he gestured for Baltar to join him. "Dee?" Tigh instructed before leaving CIC, "Get Doc. Cottle and tell him to get his ass down to the flight deck pronto with whatever people and equipment he needs. This takes top priority."

"Understood, Sir." The dusky skinned petty officer acknowledged as she spoke into her headset, "Doctor Cottle?"

"Come on, Doctor!" The Colonel urged as he walked to the CIC hatch, "We don't have all day."

As the pair arrived on the flight deck, they quickly found Doc Cottle at the center of a frenzy of activity. "I want that isolation tent over here!" The doctor directed a team of knuckledraggers, pointing at the location with his finger. "And set up the decon station over there!"

Approaching the crusty doctor, Tigh inquired, "How long 'til you're ready."

"As soon as these guys can get everything set up." Cottle replied as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Until I certify that that ship and pilot are clean, no one sees the pilot and anyone who comes in contact with either one undergoes decontamination and observation. That includes the two of you." The physician added pointedly.

"He's right, Colonel." Baltar agreed as his phantom companion appeared.

"_Don't worry, Gaius_._"_ Baltar's ghostly lover teased, _"The big bad extrauniversal alien won't contaminate you or your precious ship."_

"We can't take chances." The scientist concluded, speaking as much to his unseen paramour as to the XO.

"All right, then!" The Colonel ordered, raising his voice, "Let's get everything set up and then I want all non-essential personnel to clear the area."

Smoothly taking the unknown viper under tow, the raptor along with its escort touched down in the _Galactica's _landing bay where the three craft were met by not only the deck crew, but also medics with a stretcher and four armed Colonial Marines led by Colonel Tigh, with Dr. Baltar standing beside him.

"Boomer...Crashdown...Starbuck...Apollo! Get your asses into decon and then outta here—now!" The grizzled executive officer growled as he barked out orders, "Chief! Get what—or who—ever that is out of that cockpit. Turning towards the marines, he commanded, "If that pilot so much as reaches for a weapon—shoot to kill!"

"You heard the Colonel!" Chief Tyrol called out as one of his deck crew, Specialist Cally, lifted the cockpit window, revealing the helmeted figure within.

"Doesn't look like any Colonial uniform I've ever seen." Cally observed as she took in the uniquely shaped helmet, brown jacket, and tan pants of the pilot.

"Heh." Chief Tyrol chuckled, "You must have failed history. It looks something like the outfits our viper pilots wore during the First Cylon War—at least the vest does, and the helmet has some features in common. Lot of differences though..." The Chief noted and then commanded, "Let's get her out of her rig…" Freeing the pilot from her harness and removing her helmet, Tyrol almost gasped as the pilot's raven locks flowed free.

"What is it, Chief?" Colonel Tigh called out.

"Nothing, Sir." The Chief responded, quickly recovering.

"Chief just fell in love!" Jammer quipped, only to be silenced by the harsh glare given to him by the XO.

Chief Tyrol motioned for Cally to help lift the unconscious pilot out of her seat. Carefully carrying her to the waiting gurney, they set her down on her back.

Jerking his thumb towards the exit, Colonel Tigh barked at the medics. "Get her into the isolation tent. Doc Cottle's waiting." Turning his attention to the viper, he then ordered Tyrol, "Check that bird out stem to stern. I want to know at once if there's anything out of the ordinary about it—other than that it apparently came from another universe."

"Yes, Sir." The Chief responded as he turned towards his deck gang. "All right! You people heard the XO. Let's get to it!"

"So...What do you think, Doctor?" Colonel Tigh asked as the medics rolled the dark haired pilot away.

"I'm...I'm not sure." Gaius responded as his ghostly companion chuckled.

"_I think you're smitten by her."_ The blonde apparition teased as Gaius tried to ignore her.

"Someone from another universe..." Baltar exclaimed in wonder speaking as much to his unseen companion as to the XO. "This is the most astonishing thing to ever happen..."

"Even more astonishing than to lose over twelve billion souls to the Cylons?" Colonel Tigh remarked sarcastically.

His eyes flashing in anger, Baltar's expression changed to one of solemn grimness. "What the Cylons did to us, Colonel, was horrible...terrible...a catastrophe that cannot be described in mere words. But that young woman...think about it, Colonel! She comes from a completely different universe...possibly another _Galactica_. Maybe...in her universe...her people managed to avoid making the mistakes we made when we created the Cylons. Maybe they never had a Cylon Rebellion. Maybe her people have colonized worlds beyond the Cyrannus System and the Twelve Colonies..."

"Or maybe..." Colonel Tigh cynically retorted, "Her people are also on the run from their version of the Cylons."

"Perhaps." Baltar conceded as the medics wheeled their patient into the isolation tent, "There's only way to find out."

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"Yes, Madame President." Commander Adama said as he spoke to the president of the Twelve Colonies through the wireless in CIC. "We've recovered the pilot alive. She's currently in isolation on the flight deck until she clears quarantine."

"I see..." President Roslin responded from the newly designated Colonial One. "Any word on her condition?"

"Not as yet, but initial reports seem positive, She's unconscious, but otherwise appears perfectly healthy." Adama reported.

"Would it be possible for me to come over to the _Galactica_ to see her?" The president asked, carefully phrasing her command as a request.

"Of course, Madame President." The Commander agreed. "The pilot and her ship are under quarantine though..."

"A perfectly understandable precaution, Commander." The President acknowledged. "But, if it's not too much of an inconvenience, I'd still like to come over. If for no other reason than curiosity."

"Of course, Madame President." Adama politely replied.

As she rose from her chair, a voice attracted the attention of the President. "Madame President?"

"Yes, Elosha?" The president acknowledged, turning her attention to the priestess who served as presidential chaplain.

"When you see the...visitor...would it be possible for me to accompany you?" The priestess asked.

"Why?" Roslin queried.

"Partly to sate my curiosity as well." The priestess admitted with a bashful grin, "But also because this individual might be important to us."

"How so?" The president asked. "Other than the fact that she's from another universe, that is."

"What do you know of the goddess, Isis?" Elosha inquired.

"Well..." Roslin thought for several minutes as she recalled her college and high school religion classes, "She's responsible for protecting the dead and for magic amongst the Sagittarans, but her primary duties center around motherhood and fertility."

"Correct. You might say she wears many hats." Elosha joked, "In fact, she's often portrayed as wearing a crown shaped like a throne." Her laughter vanishing, she continued, "The scriptures speak of the coming of a wanderer who journeyed from afar and who will seek a home amongst the wanderers of the stars. This wanderer is the incarnation of Isis." Pausing for a moment, the priestess added, meaningfully, "She's also portrayed with wings."

"Are you trying to tell me that the pilot they found is what? A goddess?" Roslin chuckled.

"Of course not." Elosha replied, "But if she is who I think she is, then she might well be blessed of the goddess. With your permission, I would very much like to see her and talk to her. Hopefully, after I've talked to her, I'll have a better idea."

"Very well." The president relented, "You can come with me. But I can't guarantee that Commander Adama will let you even see her—much less talk to her."

"Thank you, Madame President." Elosha smiled, "I shall be ready to go when you are."

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As the medics wheeled in his newest, and now star, patient, Doc Cottle lit a fresh cigarette as he looked down on the young woman laying on the gurney. "Pretty thing." He commented as the medics skillfully transferred her to an examination table. Moving rapidly and professionally, he checked the new arrival's vitals, nodding his head in satisfaction as he moved from her pulse to her blood pressure to her breathing. "So far..." He said as she entered in his findings into her chart, "So good."

"So...is she...you know..." The physician's assistant standing next to him asked, "Human? Or is she one of those Cylon infiltrators?"

"What Cylon infiltrator?" The doctor demanded testily as he turned towards the physician's assistant, glaring into her eyes.

"I heard that...well...the Cylons can look like us now." The PA stubbornly insisted.

"You keep that to yourself, young woman." Cottle ordered as he took a drag from his cigarette. "We don't need for this ship and the Fleet to go into a panic over rumors. And no. This woman is not a Cylon." He said, pointing to the patient. "She's as human as you or me." Pausing for a moment as he put out his cigarette, the doctor instructed, "All right. Let's get moving. We've got a lot of work to do. I want a full range of tests done on her. Blood work, spinal tap, neurological exam, x-rays, ekg, eeg...we'll have to hold off on the emg and mri until we can get her moved into the infirmary, but any tests that we can get done here—I want 'em done. Now let's get to it. First order of business—sedate her. I want to be sure she sleeps through this. Last thing I need is a patient thrashing about scared half to death." Looking down at his patient, the doctor apologized, "I'm sorry, my dear, but it's not every day I get a new patient from another universe, so, before I do anything stupid, I need to know what makes you tick."

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"That was a pain in the ass!" Starbuck groused as she and her CAG, Lee Adama, accompanied by the other two pilots who had hauled in the alien viper, Boomer and Crashdown, entered the pilot's ready room.

"Didn't mind the shower so much." Boomer remarked, "It was all that scrubbing. I nearly rubbed myself raw."

"Tell me about it." Crashdown joked as he claimed a table for the foursome. "I don't think my boys are ever going to be the same."

"Frak!" Starbuck jibed as she poured ambrosia into four mugs, "The only action your boys get is when you're flying solo in your rack!"

"Damn." Boomer joked, "You had to say that, Starbuck! Now, I'm going to have to have the raptor hosed down."

"So Lee?" Kara questioned as she handed one of the mugs of ambrosia to her fellow pilot, "What do you think she is?"

Her old friend laughed as he took a swig of his ambrosia. "Don't know. Guess we'll find out when we find out."

"Frak." Kara swore as she chugged down her ambrosia with one gulp.

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As he read over the results of the exhaustive battery of tests he had subjected his newest—and most unusual—patient to, Doc Cottle took a drag from his cigarette. Exhaling a steady plume of gray smoke, the white-haired physician read the results of the blood tests one more time. Digging into his files, he pulled out two other sets of charts and examined them.

"Frak." He whispered as he took another drag from his cigarette, "Godsdamn. If these results check out, things are going to get awfully frakking complicated around here. Corpsman!" He then called out, "I want you to run an echo EKG on her too."

As the corpsman rushed to complete his task, another corpsman rushed in. "Doctor? Commander Adama and the president would like to see outside the quarantine area."

"Good." The doctor said as he gathered the test results strewn about his desk together and put them into a file folder, "I needed to talk to him anyway." Cottle took a deep breath and exhaled before putting his cigarette in his mouth as looked down on his still unconscious patient, "Sorry, dear. I'll have to get back to you later."

Approaching the Commander and the two women accompanying him, Cottle announced, "I'm going to lift the quarantine. There are no signs of contamination—either radiological, chemical, or biological, and I'd feel better having her in my infirmary."

"I'll support your decision, Doctor." Adama agreed with a nod of his head. "When do you want to move her?"

"As soon as possible." Cottle replied.

Her eyes focusing on the isolation tent, Laura Roslin addressed the doctor, "Have you found out anything more about her?"

"Her vitals all check out as within human norms—if that's what you're asking." Cottle testily responded. "I'll need Dr. Baltar though to run some specialized tests."

"What sort of tests?" Adama inquired.

"DNA and genetic." The doctor replied. Taking a deep breath, Cottle requested, "I also need to ask you and your son to provide me with blood and saliva samples."

"Why?" The Commander demanded.

"That is most unusual." The President commented with raised eyebrows.

"I was intending on getting them from you anyway." Cottle lied, "You're both due for your physicals. Also..." He added, telling a half-truth, "Dr. Baltar and I will need both of you to serve as controls and baselines for comparison."

"Very well.' Adama reluctantly agreed. "You can get mine in the infirmary. I'll have Colonel Tigh get hold of Apollo and Baltar and we'll all meet there as soon as you wrap things up here."

"Thank you." The physician acknowledged as the Commander turned to leave. "Now...as for you..." Cottle said, turning his attention to the president, "Have you been following my orders?"

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"You able to get anything interesting from that viper, Chief?" Colonel Tigh inquired as he ran a hand down part of the length of the extra-universal space fighter.

Shaking his head, the senior chief remarked in an awe-filled voice, "Too bad they stripped out her weapons to make room for sensors and computers. Apparently whoever that pilot's flying for arms their vipers with lasers."

"Lasers?" Tigh exclaimed in disbelief, "Hell...we gave up on those things a long time ago—plain old bullets get the job done just as well and for a fraction of the cost—both in cubits and power. Hell, lasers and particle beam weapons just plain aren't worth it."

"I guess these people found some way around all that, sir." Tyrol answered back. "Wish we knew how they did it—could come in handy."

"Heh..." Tigh responded with a snort, "Even if that pilot knew and was willing to tell us...we couldn't do anything about it."

"You're right, sir." The deck chief reluctantly agreed, "We don't have the facilities—or really the know-how."

"What else have you found, Chief?" The Colonel inquired.

"We were able to get some camera footage that's being developed." Tyrol replied. "Funny thing there is that their gun cameras aren't that much different from ours."

"Thank the gods for little favors." The Colonel replied. "What about Baltar and Lieutenant Gaeta?" He asked as he pointed to the two men who were hunched over a computer, staring into a monitor as they carried out an animated conversation, "Are they having any luck?"

"I'm not sure, Sir." The chief responded. "You might want to ask them." As the Colonel turned to walk away, Chief Tyrol called out, "Colonel, what do you want us to do with this viper? It's a perfectly good ship—we'll need to mount guns and missiles, install our avionics and computers, but once we do that, she's good to go."

"Go ahead and make the necessary modifications, Chief." The colonel ordered. "We can damned sure use the birds."

"It's Caprican standard with just a few minor variations!" Dr. Baltar exclaimed with a sigh of exasperation, "But the numbers aren't making any sense at all." Shaking his head, he continued, "Our computers just aren't able to talk to each other."

"Well..." Lieutenant Gaeta remarked, "That actually makes a degree of sense."

"True." Gaius agreed, "But the laws of physics in our two universes seem very similar—one would say identical." He declared as his phantom companion nodded her head in agreement. "So...we should eventually be able to crack whatever system they're using."

"Eventually." Gaeta agreed. "The problem is though..."

"That much of the data appears to be corrupted anyway." Baltar finished. "I know." Shaking his head, the scientist punched in an alphanumeric code on the keyboard and hit enter. "Damn." He swore. "I thought that would work."

"How are you doing here?" Colonel Tigh asked, reluctantly interrupting the two men as they worked.

"Not so good, Colonel." Dr. Baltar declared in a dejected tone.

"I'm afraid going through that anomaly has trashed much of the computer's data." Lieutenant Gaeta explained.

"And we haven't been able to decipher what data we did recover." Baltar added.

"Keep trying..." Tigh began to order only to be interrupted by a messenger. Reading the message, the colonel nodded his head. "Dr. Baltar. Something seems to have come up with our guest. Doc Cottle needs to see you on the double."

"Right, Colonel." Gaius acknowledged. Addressing his coworker, the scientist requested, "Let me know if you turn up anything, Mr. Gaeta."

"Will do." The lieutenant responded.

"Carry on, Mr. Gaeta." Tigh commanded as he began to make his way to his next destination, the pilot's lounge. Entering lounge, he found Starbuck and Apollo talking. "Captain!" The colonel called out from the door. "Commander Adama wants you to report to the infirmary ASAP."

"What for?" Lee asked as he got up out of his chair.

"How the hell should I know." The XO growled, "He just gave you an order—that's enough."

"Yes, Sir." Lee acknowledged with just the slightest bit of sarcasm in his voice as an amused Kara looked on.

As the captain left the lounge, Colonel Tigh turned about to leave as well, but before leaving, remarked to his often troublesome pilot, "Don't you have a patrol to prep for, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Sir." Kara responded, the sarcasm in her voice nowhere near as subtle as in Lee's, "On my way, Sir."

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"_This should prove interesting."_ Gaius Baltar's phantom lover smirked as the Colonial scientist placed a genetic sample from the newcomer and activated his machine. _"So...what's the verdict?"_

"I don't believe it." Baltar replied in a hushed voice as he double checked his results with the data he had attained from the samples Dr. Cottle had extracted from the Commander and his son.

Laughing, the ghostly Six caressed her paramour's face, _"But she is, Gaius. God works in mysterious ways. And believe me when I tell you, she plays an important part in His Plan. "_

"What sort of part could that possibly be?" The gifted scientist inquired, still not wanting to embrace the Cylon deity.

"_Your lack of faith is disappointing, Gaius. God will reveal all when He is ready and not before. Now..." _the blonde apparition commanded, _"You should call Doctor Cottle. He is waiting."_

"Are you sure?" Cottle questioned, speaking to Dr. Baltar on the phone. "Are you absolutely sure."

"The data doesn't lie." Gaius replied as his phantom companion nodded her head, "I've sent a messenger to you with the results. She should be there shortly."

"Thank you." Doc Cottle replied as he lit another cigarette. "I want to look at them before I tell the Commander and the president."

"Understandable." Baltar agreed. "If you need me...you know where to find me." Hanging up the phone, Gaius found himself back at his home on Caprica with his mental escort lying naked on the bed.

"_So, Gaius..." The apparition said with a smile, "Aren't you coming to bed or are you just going to stand there?"_

_Undoing his tie, Gaius approached the bed._

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"How are the pilots holding up, Lee?" Commander Adama asked his son as Elosha and the president carried on their own conversation in private.

"About as well as can be expected, Sir." Apollo reported. "Morale is high and Chief Tyrol's people are doing the best they can to keep our birds flying." Shaking his head, the CAG cautioned, "We're still eventually going to run into supply and materiel problems at some point. Restocking at Ragnar Anchorage helped a lot, but we can't keep on engaging in combat without spare parts to replace those damaged or lost. Simple attrition will kill us."

"Agreed." The older Adama nodded his head, "Whenever the Cylons lose a raider, they've got five...ten..a hundred or more to replace it."

"But when we lose a viper..." Lee continued, "We lose not only the viper, but often also the pilot." Shaking his head, he said in a tired voice, "We can't afford those losses."

"How are you feeling, Madame President?" Elosha inquired solicitously.

"Not too bad." Laura responded with a smile. "It won't be long before I have to start chemo though..."

"The gods will see you through." Elosha declared sincerely.

"I hope so." Roslin replied with a sigh, "But sometimes I feel like..." Shaking her head, a look of resolve appeared on the president's face, "But...I can't let that happen. I have to hold on."

"We'll make it, Lee." Commander Adama declared, placing a paternal hand on his son's shoulder, "We have to."

"Commander?"

Turning to the source of the call, both Adama and Roslin immediately recognized Doctor Cottle approaching carrying a file folder, his ever-present cigarette in his mouth. "The results of our mystery girl's blood work and MRI," the crusty doctor said as, reluctantly putting out his cigarette, he opened the file folder to reveal a collection of photographs and charts. "Her blood tests show her as main-line human—nothing unusual, and her MRI's the same. As far as I can tell, other than where she came from, this is an ordinary woman. However..." the white-haired doctor qualified, drawing both leaders' immediate attention, "I did find something interesting about her blood."

"What?" A concerned Adama inquired as his eyes once again fell upon the strange visitor.

"That's why I asked for those blood and saliva samples from you and your son." Doc Cottle declared, "Doctor Baltar's tests confirmed what I had earlier suspected."

"And what was that?" The Commander demanded.

"Oooohhh..."

Hearing a moaning sound coming from the strange woman, Commander Adama quickly amended his original request, "That'll have to wait for now. I want a couple of Marine guards here on the double." Addressing everyone in the room, he declared, "I think it's time we had a talk with our mystery guest."

"Not until I've had a chance to make sure she's up for it." Doc Cottle declared. "That patient is my responsibility and I'm not going to have her subjected to an interrogation right now."

"We're not going to interrogate her, Doctor." The Commander assured in a soothing voice, "And we're not going to get in your way or do anything to endanger her health. You have my word."

"All right." The doctor reluctantly relented, "You two..." He said, pointing to Adama and Roslin, "Can come in. You others...wait outside."

As Athena slowly awoke, all she could make out were blurred figures and cloudy images. Slowly, those images and figures resolved themselves into people and objects. Feeling the bed underneath her, Athena made out an IV bottle and tubes connected to her arm. Fighting the impulse to pull out the tubes, her eyes scanned the room. Standing near the doorway, but outside, were two men dressed in jet black—vaguely similar to the Council Security troops she was familiar with, but wearing strange helmets and carrying what looked like primitive slug-throwers instead of lasers.

Her eyes glancing to her left, she saw a white haired man standing next to her with a clipboard in his hand instead of a minicomp and smoking a foul-smelling fumarello. The man was talking to a man and a woman. The man was wearing a blue uniform while the woman was wearing what were apparently optical aids and had auburn hair. On the other side of a picture window, Athena noticed two other men, both wearing blue uniforms, one an older man, and the other, younger. She also recognized a dark skinned woman standing somewhat apart from the men wearing a robe or gown.

Looking up at the man in the white coat, Athena groaned, "Where am I and who are you?"

"You're in my medical bay." The white-haired man replied in a gravelly voice and I'm Doctor Cottle and for now, at least, you're my patient."

"But where am I?" Athena persisted as the man dressed in blue and the woman drew closer.

Clearing his throat, the man dressed in blue answered, "You're on board the Battlestar _Galactica_. This is Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies..." he introduced, tilting his head slightly at the woman. I'm the commanding officer of the _Galactica_, Commander William Adama..."

"No..." Athena gasped, her eyes widening as she shook her head wildly, "...that's impossible. This has to be a Cylon trick! You're not my father! Who the frak are you? Father! Apollo! Starbuck! Help!" She shrieked as she felt restraining hands on her arms and a needle entering her body, "Helppppp..."

_I got done with this a little earlier than I had anticipated and decided to go ahead and post it now. I can't always guarantee weekly updates, but I'll try to get new parts up as soon as I can. Anyway, let me address some comments here and then maybe add a few of my own:_

_ arturus: There'll be plenty of action in both universes. These 2 women share one thing in common—they know how to get into trouble!_

_ Vehiek: I wanted to change things up a bit with Callista. I'm already writing a Six in "Who Are You?" and wanted to see what I could do with an Eight. I also wanted to move away from the manipulative Six type approach and try something different. I thought an Eight would work better in the role of a freebooting roguish courier type—although you could do it with a Six too. In many ways, Callista is a female TOS Starbuck and her relationship with TOS Starbuck will be an interesting one. There will also be some feelings of loss at Callista being apparently dead—Kelly was becoming taken with her._

_ Centurion005: This story begins in nBSG time shortly after Ragnar Anchorage. 33 hasn't happened yet and so far the only known replicant Cylons are the Twos and Fives and knowledge of their existence is limited. That will, of course, change. I'm going to try to stick with canon as much as possible here, but there will be divergences—you almost have to have them with this type story. As for the TOS Pegasus, all I can say is, "Wait and see."_

_ Nedy Rahn: There will be some interaction between the two universes eventually—you have to have that to show how Athena and Callista have evolved. As to how big the interaction's going to be, well, I'm going to have to say, "Wait and see." However, one thing to remember about me: I primarily focus on characters. I'm not so much into the big fleet engagements except where they're necessary to move along plot and/or character development. How will TOS Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer, et al react to an Athena that has been through, say, the entire first and second seasons of nBSG? Some of them might be more than a little intimidated by her—and I guarantee more than a few will be scandalized by her! As for Callista—would she even want to come back to her new life after carving out a new existence in the TOS universe? These are just a few possible questions that might be addressed..._

_ Devastator: From what I gather having TOS Adama also named William and from Tauron was an effort by recent graphic novel writers to bring in some continuity between the two universes. I'm probably not going to go with have TOS Adama named William, but I might go with having him come from Tauron originally. I will be flipping back and forth between the universes—now it won't always be one episode nBSG, next episode TOS. Sometimes it might be two or three nBSG eps and then a couple of TOS eps. It all depends on how the story unfolds._

_That's all for now—these author's notes are almost as long as the story! Have a happy holiday season and those of you still taking finals—good luck and HIT THE BOOKS! (That's the teacher in me coming out :) )_


	4. Chapter 4: Mourning the Dead

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Chapter 4: Mourning the Dead

"Apollo?" Cassiopeia, called out from her station near the rear of the shuttle, "Radiation levels are increasing. It won't be long until they reach unsafe levels."

"Plenty of time to finish our sweep." The brown-haired commander of Blue Squadron declared grimly from his position at the pilot's console. Gazing out the window, Apollo gasped in astonishment at the worm-hole's swirling patterns.

"Kind of takes your breath away, doesn't it?" Starbuck exclaimed through their radio connection, his voice also filled with awe as his eyes took in the spatial phenomenon from the vantage point of his Viper.

"Is it true what they say about these things?" Boomer's baritone voice rang out through the shuttle's speakers, "That they're doorways into other dimensions or universes."

"You think that's where Athena is?" Starbuck asked, "That she might be in another universe?"

"I'm not even thinking about that possibility right now." Apollo abruptly replied, "All I care about is finding my sister in this universe and bringing her home."

"That's something we all want, Apollo." A much more subdued Starbuck answered back, "At least our sensors haven't picked up any debris or anything like that—that's a good sign."

"Wait!" Boomer's voice, now taking on a more excited edge, called out, "I'm picking up something coming through."

"Athena?" Cassiopeia asked as her heart skipped a beat.

"No." Boomer answered in response, "It's too large to be a Viper."

"It's becoming visible." Starbuck interjected, "It's about the size of a scout ship or courier vessel."

"Maybe whoever lives on the other side sent a scout." Boomer speculated as his experienced eye took in the appearance of the alien craft, "Whoever owns it looks like they keep it in good condition."

"I'll say." Starbuck agreed as he took his viper in for a closer look. "Wonder if there's someone inside."

"Still no sight of Athena or her craft." Boomer declared and then exclaimed, "Oh no...the wormhole...it's closing!"

"Frak!" Apollo cried out as his eyes grew misty. Feeling Cassiopeia's hand on his shoulder, the young captain lowered his head, "Athena..."

"I'm sorry, Apollo..." Cassiopeia consoled as she squeezed the captain's shoulder.

"Apollo..." Boomer's somber voice then came through the speaker, "I'm sorry...if there's anything..."

His eyes falling once again to the radar screen, his face took on a hardened expression. "See if you can make contact with whoever might be in that ship."

"Right, Apollo." Starbuck confirmed as he transmitted a standard first contact message to the alien ship. "No response. Whoever's in there might be unconscious—or dead."

"All right." Apollo decided, "Starbuck...Boomer...We're going to take that ship under tow and bring it back to _Galactica_. Maybe whoever's in it might know how to reopen that wormhole so that we can get my sister back."

"Good thinking, Apollo." Starbuck, agreed as he and his fellow Viper pilot fired towing cables from their vipers, easily grappling the drifting courier ship. "We've got it."

"Great." Apollo responded. "Now let's get back to the _Galactica _and hopefully we'll begin to get some answers."

"Apollo to _Galactica_...Apollo to _Galactica_."

"This is _Galactica_." Rigel's voice came through the shuttle's speaker.

Pausing for a moment as he stifled a sob, Apollo reported, "We...we couldn't find Athena or her Viper. She's gone."

A dark pall seemed to fall over the _Galactica's_ bridge as not a sound could be heard other than a muffled sob coming from Rigel. Commander Adama, barely holding back his tears, clenched the railing with his hands as his long-time friend, Colonel Tigh looked on sympathetically. Finally, Rigel spoke in a soft, mournful voice, "Understood, Apollo."

"A scout or courier ship of some sort exited the wormhole before it closed." Apollo further reported, his voice cracking on more than one occasion.

"Say again, Apollo." Adama, suddenly springing to life on hearing his son's news, requested.

"I say again." Apollo repeated, "A scout ship came out of the anomaly and we have taken it under tow and are returning to _Galactica_. I suggest that you set up quarantine facilities when we land."

"Confirmed, shuttlecraft." Adama acknowledged, "We'll have everything ready for you." Turning to his Executive Officer, the Commander requested, "Will you see to it, Colonel?"

"Of course, Commander." Tigh responded.

Adama, feeling the full effect of the years of toil and responsibility he had endured along with the recent loss of his daughter and the earlier death of his youngest son, Zak, murmured dejectedly as his shoulders drooped, "I'll be in my quarters. I have to see to the necessary preparations for Athena's memorial."

"It's not your fault, Commander." Colonel Tigh said as he placed a supportive hand on his friend's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "She was the only one capable of carrying out that mission and..." He added pointedly, "She succeeded. The data we got from her scans will allow our fleet safe passage through that space. Please...old friend...don't let her sacrifice be in vain."

"I won't, old friend." Adama replied, his face reflecting his great sadness, "But I still feel her loss..." Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the Commander ended their conversation, "Now, why don't you go and take care of the arrangements we talked about. Apollo and the others should be back soon with that ship."

"I'll get it taken care of right away, Commander." The Colonel responded, sadly watching as his disconsolate old friend walked off the bridge.

"Colonel?" Rigel's voice, barely above a whisper, immediately caught the Executive Officer's attention.

"Yes, Corporal?" The Colonel responded.

"Will the Commander be...will he be all right."

"Eventually." Tigh gravely nodded his head, "Eventually. For now though, Flight Corporal, you can help most by doing your job to the best of your ability." Raising his voice, the Colonel attempted to rally the rest of the dejected bridge crew, "That goes for everyone else here. The Commander needs us to be at the peak of our abilities now more than ever. I'm sure none of us will disappoint him." Turning to Omega, Colonel Tigh instructed, "You have the bridge while I'm away. See to it that everything is prepared for our departure."

Slowly regaining consciousness. Callista looked up to see two vipers and an unusually shaped shuttlecraft towing her ship. Looking out her window, the Eight gasped, "Holy Frak!" as she saw the huge ship they were approaching. Then upon reading the lettering painted on the side of the white vessel, the human-form Cylon shook her head muttering a soft "No!" as she read the name, _Galactica_. "Can't be..." She gasped as she began to feel dizzy. "Cavil would have a fit if he saw..." She muttered, a trace of her usual irreverence returning, as she passed out.

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As Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer, and Cassiopeia rushed to where the alien ship had been berthed, they were met by Colonel Tigh and Dr. Salik.

"Colonel...Doctor." Apollo greeted as the shuttlecraft crew approached.

Appraising the alien ship, Starbuck let out a low whistle, "I think I'm in love."

Dr. Salik then stepped up. "Apollo...Starbuck...Cassie...You're going to need to put on hazard suits before you join me inside that ship. I don't want to risk any possible chance of contamination—either way."

"Good point, Doctor." Colonel Tigh agreed.

"Right." Apollo readily assented.

"Boomer." Tigh ordered, "I want you to get with Jolly and coordinate security.

"Yes, Sir." The dark skinned pilot acknowledged, leaving rapidly to carry out his orders.

"Let's get going then." Starbuck urged, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm dying to know what a ship from another universe looks like."

"How are the radiation levels Cassie?" Dr. Salik asked as he, along with the two Warriors and Cassiopeia approached what appeared to be the ship's airlock.

"Near normal." Cassiopeia replied. "Another centaur or so and we probably could have gone in without hazard suits.

"Better safe than sorry." Apollo, still grieving his sister's loss, grimly declared as they reached the airlock.

"Looks like a pretty standard airlock." Starbuck noted. "There are manual controls as well as automatic."

"Let's get it open." Apollo ordered. "Starbuck?"

"Sure thing." The roguish pilot affirmed as he grappled the airlock mechanism and, turning the wheel, was soon rewarded by a hissing sound as the door opened.

Entering the inner chamber, Starbuck quickly cycled the airlock to ensure that none of the _Galactica_'s atmosphere could enter. Opening the inner door, Apollo requested, "Cassie? Can you get some readings?"

"Sure, Apollo." The medtech answered. "Oxygen-Nitrogen atmosphere very similar to Caprican standard. Radiation levels normal. No apparent presence of hazardous chemicals or agents in the atmosphere. While it's probably safe to remove our helmets, I'd keep them on for now. We don't want to potentially contaminate any crew."

"Good idea." Starbuck agreed as the group fanned out to search the vessel. Approaching the bow, Starbuck called out. "I think we found our crew."

"Human female by the looks of her." Apollo noted.

"Not bad looking either." Starbuck noted, receiving as his reward an elbow to the ribs by Cassiopeia.

"Oops. Sorry, Starbuck." Cassie semi-apologized with a slight grin, "Corridor's kinda crowded."

"Yeah...I noticed." Starbuck muttered as Apollo reacted with a brief snicker.

Approaching the unconscious redheaded woman slumped over the console, Cassiopeia quickly checked her vitals. "Pulse and heartbeat regular. No apparent injuries other than a slight bruise on her forehead."

"We should get her to the portable life station set up in the quarantine area." Dr. Salik ordered as he spoke into his comm unit. "Additional medtechs are on their way with a stretcher. I'd suggest you complete what you need to here as soon as possible. I want everyone to go through decontamination."

"Right Doctor." Apollo affirmed, ordering "Starbuck...see if you can access her computer and anything else that might be helpful."

"Sorry, Apollo." Starbuck shook his head. "It seems to be protected by an access code. We could hook up a decoder to try to crack it, but..."

"The owner might not appreciate it." Apollo finished. "Good point. No need to start our first extra-universal encounter on the wrong foot. We'll hold off for now. Hopefully, when...if...she recovers, she'll be cooperative. Until then...get Boomer and then I want you two to go over this ship and see what you can learn without causing any damage or hitting any alarms."

Hearing the medics entering the craft, the Captain ordered. "Let's go and let these people do their jobs." Lowering his head as he sighed, Apollo quietly concluded, "I have to see Father now anyway. We need to make preparations..."

"If there's anything I can do..."Starbuck commiserated.

"I'll let you know." Apollo replied, nodding his head in gratitude.

"I'm going to go with the medtechs and Dr. Salik, Apollo." Cassiopeia called out. "I'll let you know if anything happens."

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Walking into his father's darkened quarters, Apollo spied the white-haired Adama seated behind his desk, head lowered, hands on the desk. "Father? Father?"

"Huh..." The older man stirred, turning his head towards the door where his son stood. "Oh. Apollo." Adama said in a sad voice, "Come in. I was just..."

"Thinking about Athena?" The younger man interjected, completing his father's thought as he approached the older man, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "So was I. That's one of the reasons why I'm here. I want to help in..."

"Thank you, Son." Adama gently lowered his head as he took several objects out of his desk drawer and spread them out on the desk.

"Likenesses of Mom, Zak, Serena, and Athena." Apollo noted sorrowfully. "The ones of Mom, Zak, and Athena were the ones that you rescued from our old home on Caprica."

"And the one of Serena was when..."

"When she and I were sealed." Apollo nodded his head, "Yes, I have one too. But didn't you keep Athena's likeness on the wall?"

"Yes, but..." The old man heaved a sigh, "I decided to place it with the others after she...You and Boxey are all I have left now." Adama cried as he now, more than ever, looked every inch a tired, old man.

Still refusing to give up that slender ray of hope, Apollo pointed out, "You know, Father...there's still a chance that she might still be alive. After all, that other person came through and she's alive."

Shaking his head, Adama sighed, "I pray that that is so, but I fear that she is lost. Even assuming she and her craft were able to survive the transit through the anomaly, there's no guarantee that she would have come out in the same universe as the ship you found. She might just as well have come out in a universe hostile to life."

"So...you're saying we should just give up all hope?" Apollo exclaimed, "That's not like you Father. Not like you at all. This, coming from the man who singlehandedly rallied the survivors of the Cylon Holocaust, bringing the Fleet together to search for Earth. Don't tell me you're giving up!?"

"No son." Adama shook his head, "I'm not giving up, but I am being realistic. Your sister is gone now. We have to accept that."

"She's not, Father." Apollo declared as he gently squeezed his father's shoulder. "She's alive. I know she is—and we will find a way to get her back." The viper pilot solemnly vowed.

His lips turning up in a sad smile, Adama remarked, "One day, Son, you'll be fine Commander for this ship and the Fleet. But...we still must give Athena her proper due. We owe your sister and my daughter that honor. I was about to head down to her quarters to begin collecting her valuables so that they can be stored. Do you wish to join me?"

Nodding his head, Apollo agreed, "Yes, Father. But...I still think you're making a mistake. She's alive."

"I hope you're right, Son." The older man said as the pair left the Commander's quarters. "Now...what is the status of the woman that we retrieved from the anomaly and the craft she came in?"

"She's in quarantine now under Dr. Salik's care." Apollo replied, "...and I've got Starbuck and Boomer going over her ship."

"Good." Commander Adama responded. "Now, let us go down to your sister's quarters and take care of what we have to take care of." Shaking his head in sadness, the old man remarked, "If only Athena where here—the mere thought of talking to someone from another universe..."

"She would have been in ecstasy." The younger man smiled sadly.

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"I'm picking up a few minor anomalies in her blood work and cellular structure." Cassiopeia reported to Dr. Salik as she took readings from the patient lying in the portable lifestation that had been set up in the landing bay.

"That's not really surprising." Dr. Salik noted, "I'd be more surprised if there weren't some differences seeing as she comes from another universe. What sort of anomalies are we talking about?"

"A few genetic markers and some other interesting anomalies." Cassiopeia noted, showing them to the doctor.

"Hmmm... I haven't seen those before." Salik responded. "Other than that, she appears perfectly human. Let's go ahead and run some more tests though to be sure."

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"Well...this ship's definitely been well taken care of." Boomer remarked to his two fellow Colonial Warriors as the trio inspected the interior of the extra-universal space craft.

"Tell me about it." Starbuck replied shaking his head as he pointed to the pilot's station. "Take a look at that instrument panel. Clean and efficient."

"Fully stocked galley too." Boomer noted.

"Armory also." Starbuck exclaimed. "Looks like they use slugthrowers wherever she's from. No lasers."

"Primitive." Boomer commented, shaking his head.

"Maybe...Maybe not." Starbuck replied.

Boomer then posed the question, "I wonder why they didn't develop lasers?"

"Don't know." Starbuck replied. "Maybe they tried, but couldn't get it right and decided to just go with what worked."

"Yeah...but what about range?"

"In space, it doesn't matter." Starbuck explained. "A kinetic round will keep going until it hits something or something stops its motion. On ground, most fighting is within bullet range anyway."

"I don't know..." Boomer demurred, "I think I'll stick to my lasers."

"Same here." Starbuck grinned as he patted his holstered laser pistol.

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As they entered Athena's room, both men looked about in silence. After several moments of quiet contemplation, Adama silently nodded his head, signaling his son that it was time to begin the grim task of inventorying and gathering their loved one's belongings. Looking at a picture of Starbuck, Apollo, and Zak together, Apollo's lips turned up in a sad smile. "I remember when she took this likeness. It was just after Zak had graduated Warrior training. He'd received assignment to the _Galactica_ and were all going out to celebrate."

"Yes." Adama also flashed a sad smile, "I remember. You and Zak came home inebriated from drinking too much ambrosa..."

"And Athena and Starbuck didn't come back at all for the entire weekend." Apollo laughed. "When we returned to the _Galactica_ after our leave, I had fun doing the entire 'big brother' routine on both of them."

Opening her desk, Adama noticed a small cameo."Her mother gave her this for her coming of age day." Adama reminisced. "Ila's mother had given it to her on her coming of age day. It was a tradition in your mother's family that went back yahren. I was hoping that one day Athena would give it to a daughter of her and Starbuck's." Placing the cameo in his pocket, the old man sighed, "Maybe one day a daughter of yours or one of Boxey's will get to wear it."

The next item Apollo came across was a journal. "Father? I think this is her diary." Hesitating to open it, Apollo declared, "I kind of feel bad about reading this...like we're intruding."

"I understand, Son." Adama commiserated, "But she might have left additional messages or instructions here that she didn't put into her last testament. We need to be sure."

"All right, Father." Apollo opened the book and began to read. As he read his sister's personal thoughts, he sighed, "I had no idea she was so...unhappy...so...miserable. Father...this is...we were so wrong."

"What do you mean, Son?" Adama asked.

"Well, for starters, I don't think Starbuck really understands how much he hurt her. Here..." He said, pointing to a passage in the diary. "She wrote about Starbuck and her in the changing room during the attack on the Fleet and our home worlds. She was grieving over the loss of Zak and over the attack and Starbuck had bitten her head off earlier after he'd landed. He then came into the room to apologize and...well...you know Starbuck—Master of Tact. He wanted to...well...you know..."

Nodding his head, Adama motioned for his son to continue.

"Basically it says here that she called their relationship off because Starbuck was being a daggit at the time. She was scared and floundering and all Starbuck could think about was himself."

Sighing, Adama interjected, "I can't say as I blame her. You know I love Starbuck just as if he were a member of this family, but...like all of us...he has his faults."

"There's plenty more on Starbuck." Apollo remarked, shaking his head. "She really did love him." Reading further, Apollo sighed again, "And I don't think any of us realized or understood how much she resented our being so protective of her."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Apollo nodded his head. "Father...she expresses a lot of anger here at how we kept her from flying and how she especially hated and resented being made a teacher in the primary school."

"I thought she enjoyed being with the children and she always looked like she was taking pleasure in teaching them." Adama exclaimed in shock, genuinely surprised at what his son was telling him.

"Here..." Apollo said as he handed the diary to his father, "Read for yourself."

Taking the diary in his hands, Adama read the entry that Apollo had pointed out to him:

_Another day of the same routine: Primary School, then bridge watch, then the rejuvenation center for drinks with Deitra and Brie. Father and Brother have no idea how much I hate this. I can't stand going to that classroom every morning. It's not the children...I love them. Boxey's a charmer, bright and intelligent; and I like Kara—that little girl doesn't take any felgercarb from anyone. She wants to be a Viper pilot so bad. Too bad she'll never have the chance to reach her full potential here. If she's lucky, she'll end up like Deitra and Brie—a shuttle pilot who occasionally gets to fly the big boy's ships. Or... she'll end up like me...standing bridge watches and teaching primary school._

"I had no idea..." Adama shook his head.

"None of us did." Apollo declared as he took the diary and closing it, placed it in the box with the rest of his sister's possessions. "Or...maybe we did, but didn't want to believe it or accept it." Shaking his head, he asked, "Have you decided what you're going to say at her memorial?"

"I think so." Adama replied as he stood up. Placing an arm over his son's shoulders, the old man suggested, "We should go now. I think we've done all we can here for now. I also want to check with Dr. Salik regarding his patient and then I need to prepare for the ceremony."

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"If I hadn't seen these readings for myself..." Dr. Salik exclaimed as Cassiopeia handed him the results of the latest series of tests, "I wouldn't have believed them."

"Believed what, Doctor?"

Hearing the deep rich voice of his Commander, Dr. Salik rose out of his chair and turned about. "Commander. Please allow me to offer my condolences on your loss."

"Thank you, Doctor." Adama courteously replied, "But to get back to my original question, what sort of readings were you talking about? Do they involve the woman you recovered from that ship?"

"Yes, they do, Commander." The doctor confirmed as he handed the minicomp to the Commander. "As you can see, our guest is what can best be described as a perfect fusion of artificial intelligence and organic life."

"You mean to tell me..." An astonished Adama exclaimed, "That she's the other universe's version of Cylons? That she's an artificial intelligence?"

"I'm not sure if I would necessarily call her a Cylon." Dr. Salik demurred. "But yes, she possess both organic and synthetic traits. For instance, her brain is organic—just like yours and mine—only it has certain interesting...features."

"What sort of features?" A suddenly worried Adama inquired.

"Well...for one, she possesses silica pathways that transmit neural impulses. That allows her to interact with computers and she can probably upload and download data." Dr. Salik explained, "She's also somewhat stronger and faster than a normal human."

"How much stronger and faster?" Adama asked.

"Hmmm...not so much that a well trained Warrior couldn't defeat her, but that Warrior had better be well trained and in good shape." The doctor answered.

"We'll need to be careful with her." Adama decided, "When are you planning on lifting the quarantine?"

"I'm ready to lift it now." Dr. Salik replied. "There has been no traces of contamination of any sort. I'd like to move her into the life station if I can."

"Very well." Adama nodded his head, "But I want her in secure isolation and under constant guard until we are sure that she does not pose a threat. Also, she is to have no access to any computer or device that could be used to signal someone. If she is a Cylon—I don't want her informing this universe's Cylons about our presence here."

"Understood, Commander."

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As her eyes fluttered open, Callista slowly came into consciousness. "Doctor?" A female voice called out, 'The patient's awakening."

As her eyes regained their focus, the Eight recognized a female sitting next to her, with what looked like a tablet in her hands and a man wearing a smock approaching. "Who are you...where am I?" Callista asked.

"It's all right." Dr. Salik replied in a fatherly tone, "You're in the life station on board the Battlestar _Galactica_..."

Her eyes taking in her exotic surroundings, Callista answered back in a disbelieving voice, "I was on the _Galactica _not so long ago. This doesn't look like the _Galactica_ I know. What's going on here/ Where am I really?"

"Don't you remember anything?" Dr. Salik asked. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was just coming back from a courier run." Callista explained, "I was delivering a message for a doctor working on the _Cybele_, a Gemonese freighter belonging to the Fleet. "I was on my way back to the _Galactica_..." Chuckling softly, Callista continued, "I had a dinner date later on with _Galactica_'s LSO..."

"LSO?" Cassiopeia inquired.

"Yeah. Landing Signal Officer. He's in charge of takeoffs and landings." Callista explained.

"I see." Cassie replied, gesturing for the Eight to continue her narrative.

"Well..." Callista paused to take a breath, "Everything was going ok and I was planning on what to fix for dinner and what to wear—you know—all that good stuff." She chuckled as the nurse sitting next to her laughed. "Anyway, while I was in the middle of planning dessert, my ship's alarm sounded and that...whatever the hell it was...opened up and swallowed me up and then spat me out here. Wherever 'here' is."

Clearing his throat, Dr. Salik gestured subtly for the Warriors to be prepared, "There's something else I need to talk to you about, Callista." The Doctor began hesitatingly, "We ran some quite extensive tests on you and found some rather interesting...and I must admit troubling...results."

"What sort of results?" Callista asked, already anticipating the answer.

"We picked up on the silica neural pathways in your system." The doctor responded, "As well as a few other things."

"Oh frak!" Callista swore in a low voice. "Guess my little secret's out, isn't it? That's why Phobos and Deimos are standing over there with their hands on their pistols, right?"

Nodding his head, Dr. Salik agreed, flashing a crooked smile at his guest's wry sense of humor, "Yes. We found out that you're a combination of artificial intelligence and organic, only it's difficult to tell where the artificial ends and the organic begins. I was hoping you could tell us more."

Callista asked, "Before we continue, could I ask you for some water, please?"

Nodding his head, Cassiopeia took the hint and returned moments later with a glass of water. "Thank you." Callista responded. "Your medical scanners must be pretty advanced here to have picked up on what I am. Look, Doc, I'm not trying to dodge you or anything, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to tell the whole story again to the Commander of this ship, so, rather than have me repeat the same thing over and over again, maybe we could wait until he comes here or I'm brought to him? I'll be happy to try to answer all your questions then." _Of course, I'm going to change names to protect the guilty—like, maybe, me. But...playing it relatively straight is probably the best way to go here if I don't want to take a walk out the airlock._

"All right." Dr. Salik reluctantly agreed, "Right now, the Commander is unavailable. He's presiding over Athena's memorial."

"Who?" Callista inquired.

"Athena." Dr. Salik replied, "She was the Commander's daughter. She was lost while taking scans of the wormhole you came out of."

"Oh." Callista responded in a low voice, "I just stepped in it, didn't I?

"Don't worry about it." Dr. Salik replied, "You couldn't have known."

"Uh, Doctor?" Cassiopeia interrupted, "I'd like to attend the ceremony if that would be all right with you."

"Of course, Cassie." The doctor agreed. "You can go now. I don't think our patient's going to cause any trouble." The doctor then turned to his patient, "Right."

"I'm not about to cause any problems." Callista promised, "I'm not going anywhere or doing anything. Besides, I got the Twins here to keep me company." She then raised her voice so that her guards could hear, "Right guys!"

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Captain Apollo, wearing his dress uniform, walked up to his father who was struggling with his robe. "Here, Father..." Apollo said as he took hold of his father's robe of office, "Let me help you with that."

"Thank you, Son." Adama responded as he carefully situated his robe and badges of office. "Is it time now?"

Nodding his head, the Commander's oldest son, answered back, "Yes. The assembly hall is filled to capacity, the Quorum of the Twelve are in attendance, and the ceremony will be broadcast throughout the Fleet.

Turning the monitor in the life station on, Dr. Salik sat down to watch the ceremony as his patient slept, watched by her two guards.

"Then let us say farewell to your sister...and my daughter." Adama said as his son guided him out the door into the hallway where Starbuck and Boomer, also in dress uniforms, stood politely waiting. The four men then marched quietly down the center carpet of the assembly hall towards where the Quorum were seated. Bowing respectfully, the four men then ascended the stage and took their seats, with the exception of Boomer who approached the podium in the center. Standing behind the podium, the Viper pilot spoke.

"We gather today to say farewell to one of our own." Boomer began, "A loved and cherished daughter, sister, friend, confidant, teacher, and comrade in arms. Her steadfastness and courage will always serve as beacons for us on our voyage through the stars. Wherever she is, I pray that the Lords of Kobol will intercede to grant her a safe journey. Now, Lieutenant Starbuck would like to say a few words.

Taking his place behind the podium, Starbuck shuffled his feet nervously. "You guys know I'm no good at this, but I do want to say a few things about Athena. She was...she was a wonderful person and human being who deserved far better from me than what she got. She gave so much of herself without complaint...without questioning. I just wish..." The normally suave Starbuck choked off a sob, "I just wish I could have been...I'm sorry..." Starbuck apologized, "I can't continue."

"Thank you, Starbuck." Apollo said as he clasped his friend on the shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, "We all understand how you feel." The Captain looked down at the assembled Warriors, children, and friends of his lost sister, tears flowing freely from Cassiopeia, Brie, Rigel, and Deitra, as well as sighs and muffled sobs from Jolly and the other Warriors in attendance. Barely holding back his own tears, Apollo spoke, "My sister gave so much and wanted to give so much more. She was a teacher." Looking down at his adoptive son, Boxey, Apollo flashed a sad smile. "Not by choice or training, but she loved the children in her care and they loved her. She was an excellent bridge officer whose efforts on more than one occasion saved my life and the lives of everyone in this assembly. She was a scientist. And...she was a pilot and a Warrior. Last, but not least, she was my sister. May God and the Lords of Kobol watch over you, Athena."

As Apollo stepped away from the podium, the final speaker rose from his chair and made his way to the dais. Clearing his throat, Adama spoke in a clear, stentorian voice, "It is written in the Book of the Word that 'There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends.' My daughter's love was boundless, for she gave her life for all of us. I grieve for her as only a father can mourn, but I know that she would want us to continue to live our lives. To love...dream...and yes, to live. As we journey through the starry wilderness in search of our safe haven, I pray that you, my daughter, have found your shelter in the arms of God alongside your mother and brother and the Lords of Kobol." Looking down at the assembly, the old man brushed back a tear, "Let us all rise together to remember our daughter, sister, friend, confidant, and comrade in silence and then depart knowing that she will always be with us in our hearts."

As the crowd slowly filed out of the assembly area, Adama turned towards his son, who was talking quietly with Starbuck and Boomer, "Apollo? Starbuck? Boomer? Pass this on to all patrols: They are to maintain a careful watch for another anomaly and if they find it they are to immediately contact _Galactica_ and monitor it. I want to know if anything unusual is detected."

"Yes, Sir." Captain Apollo acknowledged, "Anything else?"

"Yes. I understand from Dr. Salik that his patient is now conscious and mobile?"

"That what I've gathered." Apollo concurred.

"Good. I want her brought to my quarters under close guard. And ask Dr. Salik and Cassiopeia to join us." The Commander requested.

"Do you want her restrained or shackled?" Apollo inquired.

"Has she proven violent or resistant?" Adama asked.

"No." The Captain shook his head. "Just the opposite, in fact. She's been very cooperative."

"Then I see no need to restrain her." Adama decided, "But maintain a heavy guard around her at all times and be alert."

"Understood, Father." Apollo acknowledged. Turning to Starbuck and Boomer, he commanded, "Ok, let's go. We've got work to do."

_My thanks again to those who are reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing this story—I hope you are enjoying it and will continue to enjoy it. As you saw here, I decided to go ahead and have the BIG REVEAL regarding Callista earlier than in version 1.0 primarily because I think TOS Galactica's medical scanning equipment would have been so much more advanced than nBSG's—Salik's no dummy and he would have caught what Callista was once his medical tests got below the cellular to the molecular level. Now for some answers to comments:_

_ Tweeky: Got you earlier, but yeah, Athena was overgeneralizing a bit and got a little messed up on her facts._

_ Centurion005: I'm keeping that close to the vest for now..._

_ Devastator: Chapters will vary a bit in length. I try to hit a natural ending point—sometimes that end point winds up with a fairly brief chapter...sometimes a longer one. Also, I won't always be alternating from Athena to Callista. Sometimes Athena will have two or more chapters in a row, sometimes Callista will be the main focus for a few chapters. Depends on where the story and the characters take me._

_ Shamorasian Empire: You'll have to wait and see..._

_Well, that's all for now. To everyone: Have a happy and safe Holiday Season and please, PLEASE do not let the recent tragedy in Connecticut destroy this holiday season for you and your loved ones—do not give the sociopath who did this horrible thing that satisfaction! Enjoy the company of family, friends, and loved ones for that is what this season is truly about. Take Care 'til next time!_


	5. Chapter 5

Through the Looking Glass

Chapter 5

Roslin and Adama allowed themselves to be ushered out of the patient's room by Doc Cottle as she slipped back into slumber. Upon exiting the room though, Adama turned on the white-haired physician and demanded, "What is she talking about Doctor? What does she mean by saying that I'm not her father and then calling for Starbuck and Apollo?"

"We ought to continue this discussion somewhere private." Doc Cottle replied, "And it'd be a good idea if your son and Dr. Baltar joined us."

"All right." Adama agreed, "We'll go to my quarters. That should be private enough." Gesturing for the others to join him, the Commander relayed Doc Cottle's request, issuing additional orders, "Lee...you and Doctor Baltar accompany us to my quarters. Saul..." He then ordered, addressing his XO. "Return to your duties in CIC. Priestess Elosha..."

"Commander?" The priestess politely interrupted, "I was wondering if it might be permissible to stay and talk to the patient once she awakens?" Before either Doc Cottle or the Commander could voice their objections she quickly spoke, "I promise I won't say or do anything that might agitate or cause distress to the patient and I won't reveal any sensitive or confidential information. I also promise to obey any instructions from any medical staff." She further added, "It might make things easier if she could be made to feel that she had a sympathetic ear or sounding board."

"I'll leave it to you, Commander, and Doctor Cottle to make the call." Roslin declared, deferring the decision to Adama and the attending physician.

Adama, grateful for the President's support and trust, turned to Doc Cottle. "Well Doctor. What do you think?"

"You can speak with her..." The curmudgeonly old doctor decided, "When I think that she's up for it. Not a moment before."

"I'll defer to Doc Cottle's judgment in this matter as well." Adama declared.

"Fair enough." Elosha acquiesced. "Thank you."

"If everything's taken care of here." Adama suggested, "Then we should take this to my quarters."

"Ishay?" Doc Cottle called out to his nurse, "Keep an eye on things here while I'm gone and don't let anyone near the patient without my express permission."

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As soon as the last of the group had entered his quarters, Adama turned to the guard at the door and commanded, "We are not to be disturbed unless it is a priority matter."

"Aye, Sir." The marine acknowledged as Adama entered, closing the door behind him. Immediately upon entering his quarters, the Commander addressed Doc Cottle who had lit yet another cigarette, "Ok, Doctor. Now...back to what I asked you earlier. Why did she tell me I wasn't her father and why was she calling out for Starbuck and Apollo?"

"I'd like to know that too." Lee interjected. "I've never met her before in my life and I'm sure Kara hasn't either."

"She's also aware of the Cylons." President Roslin noted, "Remember her words about this being a 'Cylon trick'?"

"Could she be a Cylon plant?" Lee inquired. "Another Leoben or Doral?"

"We can't rule that possibility out." Adama observed. "Dr. Baltar?" The Commander queried as he turned his attention to the skittish scientist, "Do you think she might be a Cylon."

His ghostly companion, wearing her usual red midriff baring dress appeared next to him with a broad smile on her face. "Is she a Cylon?" The doctor muttered more for his companion's benefit than anything else. Hearing her chuckle and her amused, _"No."_, Baltar answered back, "No. While...one can never be one hundred percent certain about these things..." the scientist carefully qualified, "I can with great confidence say that she is not a Cylon. She is most definitely human—a human being from another universe. That alone would make her far more fascinating, but added to that, my tests, along with Doctor Cottle's, reveal something even more astounding. Something that backs up many of our theories regarding parallel universes."

"Just cut to the chase, Doctor." Adama ordered.

Opening a file folder, Cottle announced, "These are the results of the lady's blood and genetic tests. These results are why I wanted Doctor Baltar brought in and why I asked you and your son for blood and saliva samples. Take a look at these blood test results here and at the DNA readings here." He instructed as he underlined a set of numbers with his pen. "Now," he directed, as he handed the Commander and Lee another set of papers, these bearing the name of the two Adamas. "Take a look at your readings. Note the similarities?"

"Yes." Commander Adama nodded his head, "But what does that show?"

"Yeah." Lee interjected, "What are you trying to say?"

"Ok..." Doc Cottle took a deep breath, "Now, note the genetic sequencing—especially these markers here and here..." the physician indicated another set of letters and numbers. "Commander...Captain. As far as genetics are concerned, that woman lying in my infirmary is an Adama. Dr. Baltar's tests confirm the degree of closeness as being that of an immediate blood relative."

"Wait a minute!" An astonished Lee interjected, "Are you trying to tell us that we...me and my father...and whoever—or whatever—that person is in the infirmary...are related?"

"In a manner of speaking..." The white-haired doctor fidgeted slightly as he took a pull on his cigarette, "Yes—you are. In some other universe..." Cottle declared as he took a nervous pull on his cigarette and then exhaled, "Commander Adama, you have a daughter. And you...Captain...have a sister. Congratulations—I think."

"The test results are conclusive." Dr. Baltar insisted from his position sitting near the edge of the large comfortable couch in the Commander's quarters, his ever present ghostly companion sitting seductively on the couch's arm, her fingers idly twirling a lock of his hair as she listened intently to every word. "Genetically at least, she is indeed your daughter, Commander." Then, turning his head to the _Galactica's_ CAG, currently shaking his head in disbelief, "And your sister, Captain."

"Are you serious, Doctors?" The Commander demanded.

"No." Lee shook his head, "This is impossible."

"No it isn't." Doctor Baltar asserted. Turning to the Commander, the scientist explained, "Remember when I was talking about the existence of parallel universes?"

"Yes, Doctor." Adama nodded his head.

"And how there are an infinite number of these universes and that there could be an infinite number of us all different, yet also similar..."

"So, Doctor..." Lee interrupted, "What you're trying to say is that there is another universe where my father had a daughter?"

"Exactly!" Baltar exclaimed.

"And in that universe there's another _Galactica_ and everything?" Lee further inquired.

"Possibly." Gaius nodded his head, "But not necessarily. In another universe, Commander Adama could be commanding the _Triton_ or the _Pegasus_ or he could be an admiral or he might not have even joined the Fleet at all."

Sighing, the president shook her head, "It seems all we have are questions and only one person who might be able to answer them and she's still unconscious in Doc Cottle's infirmary."

"The president is correct." Commander Adama asserted. "I don't see where further discussion right now will do us any good. So, until further notice, nothing of what is said here leaves this room—is that understood?"

"What about who or whatever is in the infirmary?" Lee inquired.

"She's still my patient." Doc Cottle growled protectively.

"She is to remain confined under guard in the infirmary until further notice." Adama ordered.

"What about Elosha?" President Roslin inquired, "Remember, she had asked to speak with her."

"Doctor?" The Commander queried.

"As I said earlier, provided my patient is not upset or disturbed, I'll permit visitors. In fact..." The doctor added, "After considering Elosha's comments regarding the psychological value of our patient having a safe sounding board to talk to, I think it might be a good idea for her to be the one to make first contact. She is probably the most non-threatening individual currently aware of her existence here." He declared pointedly

"I'm inclined to agree." Adama replied, nodding his head. "Very well...unless there's anything else, we have a lot to digest. You can go now, Doc Cottle...Doctor Baltar. Madame President, if you'd like, I can have my son escort you to your shuttle? I'll keep you updated on any further developments as soon as they occur." Addressing his son's unspoken protest, the Commander remarked, "We'll talk when you get back, Son."

"Yes, Sir." Lee acknowledged.

A somewhat shaken President Roslin nodded her head, acquiescing in the Commander's polite dismissal, "Thank you, Commander, I'd appreciate that."

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"Doctor?" Nurse Ishay called out, "It's the patient. She's awakening."

"I'm on my way." Approaching the patient's room, Cottle jerked his thumb towards the door as he growled at the two marine guards. "You two wait outside. I don't want you setting her off again." Approaching his patient's side, the crusty old doctor looked down on his awakening charge. "Hello again. I'm sorry, but we had to sedate you—you were about to pull out your IVs. Look, I know you've got a lot of questions and there are a lot of people who have questions for you, but we're not going to rush you. What I want to do first is get those IV needles off you. You're strong enough to eat real food and I'd like to get you on a regular diet as soon as possible. So, if it's all right with you, I'm going to have Nurse Ishay over here..." He said, gesturing towards a woman wearing olive drab clothing, "Remove your IV's."

Taking his patients slight head nod as asset, the doctor ordered, "Nurse?" Ishay carefully approached the patient and gently and skillfully removed the needles and the IV ports. "See?" Cottle grinned, "No pain." Seeing his patient grimace a bit, the doctor chuckled, "Well...maybe a little pain." Seeing her wince as she tried to laugh, Cottle cautioned, "Don't try laugh just yet. So..." He gently inquired, "Do you have a name Something people back where you're from call you?"

"Athena." His patient whispered.

"A pretty name for a pretty young woman." Doc Cottle smiled paternally in a manner that reminded Athena a little of her father's smile. "So...Athena...how are you feeling?"

"Better..." The dark-haired Warrior replied her voice getting stronger as her eyes fell on the two armed men standing by the door. "My guards?"

"Yeah." Cottle nodded his head. "Sorry, but Commander's orders."

"He said his name was..." Athena began only to be gently interrupted by Doc Cottle.

"We can talk about that later...when you're feeling stronger. Right now, I want you to eat and recuperate." He instructed as Ishay came in bearing a cup containing warm broth. "I'm going to put you on a liquid diet for a day or so and then start you on solid food if there aren't any problems."

A slight smile crossed Athena's face as she took a sip of her broth. "Thank you." She said in a soft voice.

"Don't mention it." Doc Cottle replied. "Once you finish your chicken soup, rest for a bit and then, when you're ready, there's someone who would like to see you—if you're feeling up to it."

"Is it the man who..."

"No." The doctor shook his head, "Her name's Elosha. She's a priestess. She just wants to talk to you. But you don't have to talk to her if you don't want to."

"All right, Doctor." Athena agreed as she took another sip of her broth. "I guess it couldn't hurt to talk to her."

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"Any word about the mystery woman, Chief?" Cally asked as she continued her task of installing the avionics into the Viper that had carried the _Galactica_'s newest passenger.

"Nope. Haven't heard a thing. They've clammed up tight." Tyrol responded as he fitted a cannon into one of the empty hardpoints that normally would have housed one of the Viper's lasers. "And don't you go nosing about trying to find out." The Senior Chief warned. "I don't need one of my best knuckledraggers cooling her heels in the brig."

"Gotcha Chief." Cally acknowledged as she returned to her work.

"Hey, Lee!" Kara Thrace called out as she spotted the younger Adama in the corridor, returning to his father's quarters after having escorted the president to her shuttle. "So...what's the word?"

"Nothing." Apollo tersely responded.

Seeing the disturbed look on her friend's face, Starbuck pressed, "Lee...something's going on here. Talk to me."

"Kara..." Lee replied with a stern look on his face, "I can't. I'm under orders not to. Now, I have to go see my father. I'll see you, later." With that, the CAG walked off.

"Damn." Kara swore in a low voice as she watched him walk away. "Godsdamn."

"Is everything all right, Madame President?" Billy Keikaya inquired as he handed the president a sheaf of papers.

Sighing, the president smiled at her aide, "I'll be ok, Billy. It's just that it's looking like things are going to get much more complicated around here."

"Yes, Madame President." Billy politely replied, taking the hint.

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Entering the Commander's quarters, Lee at once spotted his father staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Father?"

"Yes, Lee?" William replied, breaking his reverie as he turned towards his son.

"What are we going to do?" Lee demanded, "About her? You don't really believe that she's..."

"You saw the test results, Lee." The Commander said.

"The results could be wrong...or faked." The younger Adama protested.

"Doc Cottle would never falsify test results." William declared in a harsh voice, "And I don't believe Doctor Baltar is either. Lee, she is...at least genetically...related to us."

"But she's not your daughter nor my sister!" Lee objected.

"Not in the sense of being directly related, no." The elder Adama agreed, "But somewhere, there is most likely another William Adama and another Lee Adama, and they are probably even now grieving over her loss."

"So, what do we do about her?" Lee asked.

"I don't know." The Commander replied. "But before we do anything, I want to talk to her."

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Entering the patient's room, Elosha smiled down at the young woman. "Hello, my child. My name is Elosha. I'm a priestess. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Athena, Siress..." Athena politely replied.

"Siress?" Elosha inquired.

"It's a title of respect where I'm from." Athena explained, "Is there another term you'd prefer to be called?"

"Generally, I'm referred to as Reverend, Priestess, or Mother." Elosha replied with a smile, "But you can just call me Elosha, if you'd like."

"Thank you...Elosha." Athena smiled back, "So...what can I do for you?"

"Athena...you were named after one of the Lords of Kobol, I see." Elosha gently probed.

"After one of the Lords' wives, actually." Athena replied, "Why? Do you believe in the Lords of Kobol here as well?"

"Yes, we do. Although there might be some differences in how we see the Lords. Tell me, Athena, how do your people see the Lords?"

"We see them as wise men." Athena responded, "Prophets and saints. How do your people see them?"

"We see them as wise men and women as well..." Elosha explained, happy to see that there was common ground between her and the woman from another universe, "But we also see them as gods. Athena, for instance..." Elosha sadly explained, "Committed suicide out of despair over the exodus of the Thirteenth Tribe."

"You believe in the Thirteenth Tribe as well?" Athena exclaimed, "And that they fled Kobol to find a new home—Earth."

"Yes, my child!" Elosha exclaimed jubilantly. "It seems we have something else in common, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does." Athena smiled back, deciding that she liked this priestess. "You know..." She remarked as Ishay brought her a cup of tea, "Some of us see the Lords of Kobol the same way you do."

"And how do you see them, my child?" Elosha asked with a warm smile.

"Hmmm...to be honest...until recently I've never given them much thought." Athena confessed. "But, recent events are beginning to make me rethink that."

"Well..." Elosha gently chuckled, "I'm sure that suddenly finding yourself here might cause something of a spiritual awakening."

Chuckling as well, Athena took a sip of her tea and answered back, "Yeah, partly." Her laughter dying down, she took another sip before continuing, "But also, something else—an encounter I had before I went out on my mission—the one that sent me through that wormhole into here."

"And what sort of encounter was that, if I might ask?" Elosha queried gently.

"I was in the rejuvenation center with Boomer and some friends of mine who were also Warriors and a Seeress...do you have Seeresses?...came in."

"Yes, my child." Elosha nodded her head, "We have seeresses and oracles—they hold a place of special importance and honor in our society."

"They do in ours as well." Athena remarked as she continued her tale. "The seeress then said something to me..."

"Do you remember what she said?" Elosha asked as her heart began to race.

"Yes." Athena asserted, nodding her head in strong affirmation. "She said: 'Child of Isis. Isis reborn. Your true home awaits. The journey shall commence anew. The Temptress comes in the dark and leaves in the light. Child to mother...mother to child. Children find their parents. Parents find their children. The Children of Man meet the Children of the Serpent. Those like yet not like unite in common cause. Isis and the Temptress. Isis the reconciler. Isis bringer of life.'"

Opening a book that had been resting on her lap, Elosha explained, "This is the Book of Pythia, part of our Sacred Scrolls. I'd like to read this to you, if I may: 'And there shall come a child of Isis from far beyond the stars to be reborn in this, her true home. The Roguish Temptress, born of evil, but with good heart, shall leave her home for the lands of Isis to be reborn. Isis reborn with the Rogue reborn will together reconcile those like, yet not alike, and bring life from the death created by the Children of the Serpent and the unrepentant Children of Man.'"

"There are so many similarities..." Athena gasped. "Are they referring to...no..." She shook her head violently, "They can't be referring to me."

"I think they are, my child." Elosha said gently as she placed a kindly hand on the younger woman's forearm, calming her with her touch.

"So...what am I? What am I supposed to do?" Athena pleaded.

"Prophecies are strange things, my child." Elosha smiled back. "Very often, the worst thing you can do is try to make them happen. The gods work in their own time and in their own way. All we can do is have faith and take things as they come."

"That's not easy for a Warrior and a scientist." Athena quipped, flashing a crooked grin at the priestess.

"You'd be surprised." Elosha joked back, "Some of my best clients have been soldiers and scientists. Now..." She smiled, "Would you like me to tell you a bit about Isis so that you can maybe understand something of the prophecy and perhaps something of Isis, us, and possibly yourself as well?"

"Yes." Athena smiled back, "I think I'd like that."

"Very well..." Elosha began, "Let's start with who Isis is and what she's responsible for and go from there, shall we?"

After a long discussion, Athena stretched her mouth in a wide yawn. "You're tired, my dear." Elosha observed, "And I must confess to growing weary myself. Why don't we call it a night?"

"Sure." Athena replied, "Although I really did enjoy our talk. Will you come again?"

"Of course, Athena." Elosha smiled as she took out from her purse a gold ankh attached to a golden chain. "Here...please accept this as a gift from me and perhaps as a token of your growing knowledge of and maybe devotion for Isis. It's an ankh, it is known as the key of life and is sacred to the goddess."

"Are you sure?" Athena asked, deeply touched by the gift and its significance.

"Please. Wear it." Elosha insisted as she helped Athena slip the necklace around her neck. "And take this as well..." The priestess entreated as she handed Athena a book. "It goes a bit more into Isis and the mysticism surrounding her. I think you might find it interesting—and it'll give us something more to talk about." Exiting the room, the priestess said her goodbyes, "Sleep well...I'll see you tomorrow."

Opening the book, Athena began to read and as she read, she found herself drawn more and more to Isis until finally, overcome by fatigue, she drifted off to sleep.

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Waking up the next morning, Athena smiled as the nurse came in bearing a tray with a cup and a bowl. "Morning." The nurse smiled back.

"Morning, Nurse...Ishay?" Athena replied as she sat up in the bed.

"That's right." The nurse answered back, pleased. "Doc Cottle said we can start you on solid food today, so I brought you some of this..." She said as she set the table on her patient's lap. "Oatmeal." Ishay explained, "Doc wanted to start you off with something that wouldn't upset your stomach. We can gradually introduce you to more foods until you're eating a regular diet—shouldn't be too long—you're recovering nicely."

"Thanks." Athena grinned as she dipped her spoon into her oatmeal and swallowed a bite. "Tastes good after not eating for a while."

"Beats an IV drip or pure broth." Ishay smiled back. "I'll let you eat in peace, and then Doc Cottle will be in to see you, ok?"

"Thanks." Athena responded appreciatively as she dug into her meal.

Several minutes later, Doc Cottle arrived along with Ishay. Taking the tray away and nodding her head approvingly as she noticed that Athena had cleaned out the bowl, Ishay quietly left the room leaving the doctor alone with his patient.

"So, how's my prize patient doing this morning?" The doctor inquired with a grin as he opened Athena's chart.

"Good, Doc." Athena replied, "Little restless though. Kinda tired of being cooped up in here."

"Think you might be ready to talk to the Commander?" Cottle asked.

After giving the question a great deal of thought, Athena nodded her head, "Yeah. I'm going to have to do it sooner or later—right?"

"Yes, you are." The doctor nodded his head in agreement. "But before I tell him you're ready, I want to talk to you about a few things." He said as Elosha entered the infirmary. "I've asked Priestess Elosha to join us, if that would be all right with you."

"Hello, my dear." Elosha smiled as she entered Athena's room.

"Hello Elosha." Athena smiled back. "I read quite a bit of the book you loaned me. I have a few questions if I might?"

"Sure, child." Elosha replied as she sat down next to the white haired physician. Then, gently holding one of Athena's hands, she said, "But I think Doc Cottle wants to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" A suddenly nervous Athena asked, "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Oh no." Doc Cottle replied with a smile. "You're in great health. I need to talk to you about something else though. When we found you, you were unconscious. While you were comatose, we ran standard tests—blood work, ekgs, MRIs, you know...nothing invasive...but we needed to know who...or what...we were dealing with."

"Yeah." Athena nodded he r head, "My people would have done much the same thing. So? What did you find that was unusual?"

"I found some interesting markers in your blood work and had a colleague perform some genetic tests on you and on the Commander and his son." Taking a deep breath, the doctor announced, "Those tests confirmed my results. Genetically, you're related to Commander Adama and his son, Lee Adama."

"So the man who was in here the first time..." Athena began.

Elosha nodded her head as she gave Athena's hand a supportive squeeze, "Was Commander Adama."

Athena spent several moments in silence processing the information until she finally spoke, "Are you sure, Doctor? Absolutely sure?"

"Yes." The doctor responded affirmatively. "There's no question."

"I see." Athena replied in a soft voice.

"I know this is a lot to take in." Elosha said sympathetically.

"I know..." Athena said hesitatingly, "That the existence of parallel universes was theoretically possible. And that there could well be duplicates of myself and my father and brother in those universes. But to actually find out that I'm in a parallel universe. One where there is a duplicate of my father and Apollo and..." She paused for a moment, debating on whether to ask before finally enquiring, "Please tell me...is my brother Zak still alive and is there another...me...here?"

Shaking his head, Doc Cottle responded, "I'm sorry, Athena. Commander Adama in this universe doesn't have a daughter...at least not one that we know about. As for any other brothers...I think you should probably talk to the Commander about that."

Taking a deep breath, Athena slowly exhaled, "I think...I think I understand what you're saying, Doctor. So..." She asked, "When does the Commander want to see me."

"Why don't you take some time and talk with Elosha." The doctor suggested, "You've had a mountain of stuff dumped on you and I'm thinking you'd like some time to process it all. When you're ready, let me know and I'll notify the Commander. All right?" Taking his patient's nod of her head as agreement, Cottle smiled back, "Ok, then. I'll leave you two alone to talk."

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"So, what do you think, Saul?" Commander Adama asked as he poured ambrosia from his private stock into two glasses.

"I think it's a load of bullshit." The crusty XO replied as he gulped down the ambrosia.

"Go easy on the stuff, Saul." William laughed, "I've got to make it last."

Chuckling, Colonel Tigh joked, "Then you should know better than to let me anywhere near it." His laughter fading rapidly, the XO queried, "You don't seriously believe that she's your daughter from another universe do you, Bill? Sounds like the plot of a bad science fiction channel movie of the week to me!"

"I know." William replied, "I'm still trying to figure it out myself. But, both Doc Cottle and Doctor Baltar agree..."

"So?" The colonel argued, "They could be wrong."

"Maybe." Adama allowed as he took a sip from his glass, "But, somehow, I don't think so."

"So, what are you going to do?" The XO inquired as he sipped his ambrosia.

"I'm not going to do anything." The Commander declared, "Until I have more information." Hearing a knock at his door, Adama called out, "Yes?"

"Lieutenant Gaeta and Doctor Baltar, Sir."

"Come in, Lieutenant...Doctor" Adama replied. As the door opened, the young dark haired officer entered along with the scientist. "What have you got for me, gentlemen?"

"Sir," The lieutenant responded, " I've developed the gun camera footage and managed to retrieve some of the voice recording, but I'm sorry to say I couldn't get anything from her computer—all the data was lost and most of the computer circuitry was apparently fried when she went through that wormhole, but I think you'll find some of the photos interesting, sir, and you'll definitely find the recording interesting."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Gaeta." Commander Adama replied as he took the folder, "Play the recordings if you would please."

"Yes, Sir." The lieutenant responded as he pressed the play button on the recording device.

"_Moving...position. ...area...high energy. ...going to investigate…"_

"_Exercise caution." _

"_Understood, Sir. Tell...doctor...corridor...high...acceptable...radiation."_

"_Forces...exerted...black...string acting. Waves...singularities."_

"_...readings...singularities, Lieutenant?"_

"_Belay...Return."_

"_Commander...I can do it."_

"_... well, Recon One. Proceed...caution. readings...return...Galactica."_

"_Yes Sir...quantum anomaly..._

"_Galacti..." _

"_Galactica…I'm being pulled in!"_

As the recording ended, Adama looked at his XO. "Well, Saul, what do you think?"

"She's got guts...I'll give her that." The colonel responded.

"Voices from another universe." Gaius whispered in awe.

"_Indeed."_ His angel, now wearing a black see-through negligee remarked as she twirled a lock of his hair. _"Now, what are you going to do with her?"_

"She was obviously sent out to investigate unusual cosmic phenomena." Seeing his phantom companion nodding her head in agreement, the scientist continued, "Phenomena that possibly threatened her ship and or fleet."

"_Very good, Gaius."_ The phantom praised as her hands began to wander.

"The question is..." The Commander pondered, "Are we entering a similar area of instability?"

"At the current time, Commander..." Lieutenant Gaeta answered, "No."

"Then what caused the wormhole on our end to open?" Colonel Tigh demanded.

"If I had to speculate..." Dr. Baltar conjectured, "I'd say a temporary weakening in the membrane between our two universes permitted an unstable 'white hole' or wormhole to appear here."

"Is there a possibility for stable wormholes to exist, Doctor?" Commander Adama asked.

"Theoretically, yes." Gaius responded. "I'd show you the math, but I'm afraid it would be..."

"That's all right, Doctor." The Commander quickly interrupted, "We get the idea." Pausing for a moment, Adama declared, "I think it's time we spoke to our visitor. Lieutenant Gaeta...you can go now. Doctor Baltar? I'd like to ask you to stay if you would please." Then, picking up the wireless in his room, he spoke, 'Madame President? You might want to take a shuttle to the _Galactica_ now. Yes. As soon as possible. Thank you. I'll see you then." Pausing for a moment, the Commander then contacted his son, "Lee? Come to my quarters. It's time we spoke to our...relative."

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After a prolonged time, Doc Cottle returned to see his patient and Elosha talking and laughing together. "So..." The doctor inquired as he lit a fresh cigarette. "The Commander's ready to see you if you're ready."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Athena replied, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"All right then." Doc Cottle grinned as Ishay came in with standard issue underwear, olive-drab shirt and pants, and a pair of boots. "I figured you might want to get dressed before you meet the others."

"What happened to my clothes?" Athena asked as she eyed the plain institutional clothing that Ishay had set on a nearby chair.

"Don't worry—they haven't been thrown away." Doc Cottle replied, "We don't want you sticking out like a sore thumb, do we? Besides...they beat walking around in a hospital gown with your ass hanging out for everyone to see."

"I guess these will have to do then." Glancing at the two Marines standing watch over her, the lovely brunette cleared her throat, "Think you could have those two turn their heads or something while I get changed."

"You heard the lady, boys!" The white-haired medical doctor laughed, "Don't worry, Ishay and the priestess will make sure she doesn't sneak out from under your noses." Turning to his patient, Doc Cottle smirked, "Happy now?" Leaning in, he whispered, "You better prepare yourself for a shock when you use the head or take a shower. Facilities are unisex." Chuckling at the stunned look on his patient's face, Doc Cottle remarked, "Ishay will help you get dressed and when you're ready we'll go see Commander Adama."

"Ready?" The doctor asked as Athena finished lacing up her boots.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Athena replied.

"All right...let's go."

As the tiny group made their way down the corridor, Athena softly whispered as she touched her ankh, "Lady Isis, hear my prayer..." As she ended the prayer with a final, "So say we all," she heard Elosha and one of the marine guards, a young dark-skinned man, repeat the ending. Looking up, she gave the guard a quick smile as they reached the Commander's door.

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Hearing a knock on his door, the Commander instructed one of the marines standing next to the door to open it. Seeing that the extra-universal traveler had arrived with Doctor Cottle, he ordered the two marines, "Bring her in and remain with us."

Marching into the room, Athena immediately snapped to attention and saluted the Commander. "Lieutenant Athena of the Battlestar _Galactica_ reporting as ordered, Sir."

Returning her salute, the Commander nodded his head approvingly. "Stand at ease, Lieutenant." Glancing at his XO out of the corner of his eye, he also noted a slight nod of approval. "Doc Cottle...Madame Elosha...you stay too." Gesturing at an empty chair, the rugged battlestar commander requested of his guest, "Have a seat, please, Lieutenant."

While putting on as brave and positive a face as possible, inside, Athena's stomach was tossing and turning as she slowly took her seat. As she took in the Commander's quarters, the young brunette's eyes fell immediately to a bookcase with genuine bound books. A warm feeling temporarily overcame her as she recalled her father reading the Book of the Word behind a desk very similar to the rose-wood desk sitting in the room. Her eyes then took in the rest of the occupants sitting or standing in the room—the dark haired younger man wearing a blue uniform named Lee, her brother in this universe, a white haired man also wearing a blue uniform, and the auburn haired woman that was supposed to be the President of the Colonies. Looking up at Doc Cottle and Elosha, she smiled, thankful for their presence here. Then, she spotted another man, nervous looking but not at all unattractive, with long hair and wearing a shirt, jacket, and pants with a neck tie or cord of some sort hanging loosely down his shirt.

"Thank you for joining us." Commander Adama said politely as he carefully observed the woman in the chair. "I know we all have a lot of questions, but I think it would be best if we took this slowly and easily. First, Dr. Baltar..."

"Baltar!?" Athena leaped out of her chair, her face reddening and her eyes blazing with fury at the name of the arch-traitor. "Baltar betrayed us—convinced us to let down our guard, that the Cylons were ready to make peace with us—they killed everyone...my mother...Zak...all dead..." She sobbed as she sunk back into her chair, her hands covering her face as the tears flowed down her cheeks.

Seeing that all eyes in the room were now turned on him, Baltar heard the words of his spectral companion, now speaking with a rare urgency, _"They're growing suspicious, Gaius...quickly...ask her if her Baltar resembles you...do it now or everything's lost."_

Clearing his throat, Gaius asked in as compassionate a tone as he could muster, "Excuse me, but this Baltar...did he look anything at all like me?"

Feeling a firm, yet compassionate hand on her shoulder, Athena looked up to see, through tear stained eyes, the commander looking down on her, his face, more than anything else, reminding her of her father. A slight smile crossed her face momentarily, only to quickly disappear as she forced herself to look into the eyes of the man speaking to her, Athena sniffled as she shook her head, "No...he was older...about the same age as my father..."

"Was he a scientist?" Baltar questioned as the phantasm sitting next to him nodded her head approvingly.

"No." The dark haired woman answered back as her confusion began to mount, adding, "He was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. He knew my father..."

"So you see..." Gaius continued, this time smiling warmly, "I can't possibly be the same man as your Baltar. I'd never met Commander Adama until I came on board _Galactica _after the attack, and I've never been involved in politics."

"Doctor Baltar's telling you the truth." Commander Adama confirmed in a firm, yet gentle voice. "We have never met or communicated with each other until Ragnar Anchorage—after the Cylon attack."

"The Doctor has not served the Adar administration, nor any other administration that I am aware of, in any political capacity at all." President Roslin interjected, also vouchsafing the scientist. "In fact, he has been of great assistance in our efforts to escape and detect the Cylons."

Raising his voice just enough so that everyone in the room could clearly hear him, the scientist continued, "It's as I was telling everyone—there are many parallel universes—each choice we and our ancestors make create new universes. The Baltar in your universe is completely different from me. His ancestors made different choices—as did he. I'm nothing like that man—do you understand—I'm nothing at all like him. Nor do I want to be." He persisted, aiming his final remarks not just to the raven-haired woman sitting across from him, but also to everyone else in the room.

"I understand the physics behind parallel universes...that there could be duplicates alike, but different." Athena replied, her voice still reflecting a degree of skepticism, "But to see you with the same name as...I'm sorry."

"That's quite all right." Baltar replied in a tone that sounded both conciliatory and magnanimous, "Your reaction was perfectly understandable. So...you do understand the nature behind parallel universes? That's fascinating."

Nodding her head, Athena explained, "Before the attack, I was a doctoral candidate in physics. That's why I was chosen for my mission."

"Most interesting!" Gaius remarked, flashing his most charming smile. "I'd like to talk to you more about this sometime if I may?"

"_You're smitten by her Gaius!"_ His phantom companion exclaimed as he was temporarily transported to his villa. _"That's all right..." She grinned as she fondled him. "You can have your fun. Just remember that I love you."_

"A scientist as well as a Viper pilot..." Adama nodded his head approvingly.

Turning her attention to Athena, The President took out a photograph of Doral and an autopsy photo of Leoben. "Do you recognize either of these individuals?" She asked as she handed the photos to Athena.

"No, Ma'am." The dark-haired warrior responded as she shook her head, "I'm sorry, should I?"

"Not necessarily." The president smiled. "You mentioned earlier that your people was destroyed by the Cylons as ours was. Could you tell us please tell us about your Cylon War?"

"Of course. In our universe, the Cylons were created by a reptilian race over a thousand yahren ago..."

"Yahren?" Lee interrupted.

"I think she means years." Elosha answered. Turning to Athena, she gently asked, "Do you remember our talk about how our time measurements differ?"

"Oh...yes, of course, Elosha." An embarrassed Athena replied, "I'm sorry. I meant years."

"A thousand years and created by an alien race?" Colonel Tigh noted skeptically.

"Fascinating!" Dr. Baltar exclaimed. "Tell us more, please!"

Smiling in spite of herself at the support given to her by the namesake of her people's nemesis, Athena continued her tale. "The Cylons decided to create a race of machines to serve them..."

"Just like us." Adama noted, receiving a surprised reaction from Athena.

"Sir?" The lieutenant inquired.

"Later." The Commander replied, noting with approval how well their 'guest' was responding to military protocol and discipline, "For now, continue your report."

"Yes, Sir. The Cylons decided to use human beings as the template for their machines. Later, the Cylons attacked the Twelve Colonies because we came to the aid of another world being attacked by them. A few years into the war, the machines overthrew their masters and continued the Thousand Yahren War. We were holding our own until Baltar betrayed us. He made President Adar and the Quorum of the Twelve believe that he had brokered a peace treaty with the Cylons, only to betray the fleet and the home worlds. My father rallied what was left of humanity and we went off in search of a new home, the home of the Thirteenth Tribe, Earth.

Everyone in the room listened with rapt fascination to Athena's tale, shaking their heads in both wonder and disbelief as she spoke of alien races and of her father's discovery of the world of Kobol. The group paid careful attention, not saying a word until the raven-haired woman had clearly finished speaking. It was then that Dr. Baltar, clearing his throat, exclaimed in utter astonishment, "Do you all realize how wonderful...how marvelous...this is? A parallel universe with humans who have shared much of the same experiences we have—who have the same goal we have—and yet there are so many differences!"

"We're aware, Doctor." Commander Adama interjected in a grave voice, "We're also aware that her people, like ours, have had their homes destroyed...their lives ruined..."

"Of course." Gaius quickly responded, sounding an apologetic note, "I didn't mean to make light of Athena's...or her people's suffering..."

"Of course you didn't, Doctor." President Roslin interrupted before turning the conversation back to Athena, "You say that your father knows where Earth is?"

"He doesn't exactly know..." Athena clarified, "It's just that...on Kobol my father found something...a clue...I'm not really sure what..." she admitted, "Everything happened so quickly and I wasn't there at the time. My father, Baltar..." she spat out that name as if it were a curse, "...Serena, and my brother, Apollo, were trapped in the Tomb of the Last Lord of Kobol when the Cylons attacked." Her eyes moistening, she then told the group about the Cylon attack on their encampment, the fight in space in which she participated, and finally, the death of Serena, Apollo's newly sealed wife.

"I'm sorry about your brother's loss..." Commander Adama remarked sincerely as he handed the young woman a glass of water. "To lose family is always a terrible thing to have to endure."

Watching as tears formed on someone who could easily have been his younger sister's face, Lee Adama felt more than a twinge of guilt as he recalled Gianne, his fiancé whom he had left behind on Caprica—the one he had so callously run away from after she had told him that she was carrying his child. His guilt mounting, the young CAG had to turn his face away as the young woman sobbed.

After the visitor had dried her eyes, Adama walked back to his desk, opening the top drawer, he took out a stack of photos. "Do you recognize any of these?" He asked as he handed Athena pictures of the new model basestars, centurions and raiders.

"No, Sir." Athena responded with a shake of her head, "Although they do look Cylon. Why? Are those the Cylons you're fighting."

Nodding his head, Adama replied, "Yes, now." Then, handing her another set of photographs, the commander asked, "What about these? Do they look familiar?"

Seeing the centurions, raiders, and basestars that she was familiar with, Athena nodded her head, and answered with more than a touch of anger and venom in her voice, "Yes, Sir. Those are the frakking Cylons that we've been fighting. Don't tell me they've come over here as well?"

"No." Adama replied, "Not that we know of, anyway. These were the model Cylons Colonel Tigh and I fought in the First Cylon War. As you can see from the earlier photos, they've made some improvements since then."

"Maybe you should tell me about your Cylon War, Sir." Athena politely requested as her eyes met the older man's.

"Very well..." The older man replied as he sat down in the old, comfortable leather chair behind his desk, "It began when we humans created the Cylons..."

Shaking her head in wonder as Adama finished his rendition of the Cylon Wars, Athena remarked in an awe-filled voice, "It's amazing. How similar...and yet how different...everything is."

"That's just what I've been trying to say!" Gaius exclaimed excitedly, "While there are any number of remarkable differences, in the broader essence, our universes have been following roughly parallel paths..."

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"_It's almost as if Someone had designed it that way."_ The phantom Six smiled as Gaius suddenly found himself transported back to his villa on Caprica where he lounged in a deck chair contemplating the sunset as his Cylon paramour lay nude on a beach towel, soaking up the last of the sun's rays.

"_Or it's the product of a remarkable coincidence."_ The skeptic within the lecherous scientist countered.

Slowly rising to her feet, the angel chuckled as she wrapped her towel around her body. Slowly and sensuously approaching her lover, she bent down and kissed him. _"It's amazing how, after everything that has happened, after all God has done for you, you continue to deny Him." _After a lingering kiss, she broke contact as her face now took on a serious, almost dangerous edge, _"Be careful, Gaius. While God is good and forgiving—there are limits to His patience and you are treading dangerously close to those limits."_

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"You were saying, Dr. Baltar?"

The president's voice rousing him from his reverie, Gaius continued, "I was just agreeing that it truly is remarkable that our universes have been following these roughly parallel paths. The existence of Cylons in both our realities...the destruction of our home worlds...the gathering of a fleet of survivors around a battlestar with the same name—_Galactica_—commanded in each case by an Adama—both fleets searching for the same destination—Earth. Not to mention the similarities in names and relationships—and even genetic commonalties such as Athena's with the commander's and captain's. And yet there are very real differences such as the role of this other Baltar and the existence of alien races in Athena's reality."

"Thank you, Doctor Baltar." The Commander interrupted as he opened the file folder that Lieutenant Gaeta had given him earlier. Taking out a photo, he handed it to Athena, "Is that your _Galactica_?" .

"Yes, Sir." The displaced Warrior replied, the obvious pride in her voice bringing a smile to Adama's face.

"You have every right to be proud, Lieutenant. It looks like a fine ship. Thank you, Lieutenant. We've had a lot to digest here and we're going to need to talk. Not to mention, you're probably hungry by now. Doc Cottle and Madame Elosha will escort you back to the infirmary and I'll send for you later. Dismissed."

Waiting until the raven-haired woman had left and the hatch to his quarters had been dogged shut before speaking, Adama began the discussion, "So..."

"An interesting tale..." Roslin remarked, "While there's always a chance that she could be manipulating us, something tells me that she's not."

"Why do you say that, Madame President?" A still skeptical Lee inquired.

"I think it was her references to Kobol." Laura replied, "While similar to our legends, hers are just different enough..."

"She could have made it all up." Lee pointed out.

"Possibly." The president conceded, "But I don't think so. There are just so many little details and other elements that she didn't know or understand..." Roslin explained, drawing on her experience as a teacher, "You'll always find some inconsistencies in any mythological framework. Also, Lee, do you remember every detail of the legend of the exodus from Kobol?" Smiling as the younger Adama shook his head, Roslin continued to lecture, "Of course not. You wouldn't unless you were a scholar or theologian or deeply steeped in the literature—and even then, you'd forget details—it's human. No...her account just comes across as too genuine."

"I tend to agree, Madame President." The elder Adama concurred, adding, "Her reaction on hearing Baltar's name mentioned, for instance seemed too real...to visceral...to have been faked."

"Are you sure about that, Commander?" Saul Tigh countered, "Maybe her goal was to put suspicion in our minds about Baltar."

"It's possible..." The Commander allowed, "But I don't think so. You saw her reaction when she saw the photos of the new model centurions and raiders—not to mention the human Cylons—and then her reaction when I showed her the older models—she genuinely didn't recognize the newer models or the infiltrators. No..." he said shaking his head, "...I think she is who she says she is." Pausing for a moment, the commander asked his XO, "What did Chief Tyrol find out about her craft?"

Shaking his head, Colonel Tigh recalled his earlier conversation with the _Galactica's_ deck chief, "The Chief said that wherever she's from, they've learned how to mount and use energy weapons. Hell...we can't even do that. Oh...something else..." The colonel recalled as he took a photograph of a beautiful woman, "Chief Tyrol found this in her Viper. Seems like she might be someone important to her...mother or aunt or someone like that, perhaps."

"Thanks, Saul." Adama replied as he slipped the photograph in his coat pocket. "Is there anything else?"

"They're not completely more advanced than us." Lee pointed out, "Apparently she has no knowledge of hyperlight travel. Remember, she said that they use something called 'light-speed'."

"Could be another name for hyperlight." Saul pointed out.

"Maybe." The commander agreed. "There's just so much we don't know about her."

"So, what do we do with her?" Colonel Tigh asked. "Do you want her in the brig?"

"No." Adama shook his head. "Let her stay in the infirmary for now. She's used to it and it probably gives her a sense of security. I want to give her a chance to rest up and then I'll talk with her in private. Then, I'll make my decision."

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"What are they going to do with me?" A nervous Athena asked no one in particular as she returned to her room and sat at the edge of her bed."

"No one's going to harm you, child." Elosha said in a calm, assuring voice. "It's just that they have an awful lot to absorb and it's going to take them a little time."

"I don't know..." Athena shook her head, "I think the Commander likes me..."

"Ummm...Ma'am?" One of the marines guarding her, the dark-skinned one who had prayed with her earlier, tentatively interrupted.

"Yes..."

"Corporal Venner, Ma'am." The marine introduced himself. "I just wanted to say that you scored major points with both the Commander and the Colonel in there."

"I thought the Colonel hated me." Athena shook her head.

"He hates everyone, Ma'am." The Corporal laughed. "He's the XO and he's a hardass." Smiling at his charge, the marine declared, "You got him at least a little on your side when you came in and introduced yourself by the numbers. He likes that sort of thing."

The other marine chimed in, "Corporal Venner's right Ma'am. You'll be just fine. You're not a Cylon and you're not the enemy."

"Thank you." Athena smiled back at both marines and then turned to Elosha and took both her hands, "And thank you! I don't know what I would have done without you and Doc Cottle there with me."

"It's my pleasure." Elosha smiled back as she handed a small box to her pupil. "Here...this is yours."

"I couldn't Elosha!" Athena protested, "You've done so much for me already. I couldn't impose any more on your generosity."

"I insist, my dear!" The priestess entreated, pressing the box in the younger woman's hands. "Open it."

Opening the box, Athena smiled as she saw the little statuette. "It's Isis, isn't it?"

"Very good." Elosha smiled. "I thought you might like it. Use it to help you to find your center when you meditate and pray. Also..." She chuckled, "It's a nice piece of art—it'll brighten up your quarters."

"Thank you!" Athena beamed as she gave her teacher a kiss on the cheek. Placing the statuette on her nightstand, the Warrior promised, "I'll keep it with me always."

"You're welcome, my child." Elosha replied, "Now, I'm afraid I must leave and you must rest. You've had a long and eventful day."

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_I hope everyone had a happy and safe Holiday season and that the New Year brings everyone peace and prosperity and good health. A few quick notes:_

_As I mentioned earlier, I'm painting a more sympathetic picture of Elosha in this story. I think she tends to get a bum rap in many stories—I think there's something of a tendency to conflate her with Sarah Taylor who was more of a zealot in outlook in my opinion. Elosha impressed me as someone serious about her faith, but not one to lead a crusade or inquisition. Some might not like the fact that I'm having Athena embrace Isis. You have to remember that she's finding herself adrift in a strange universe, alone, scared, and looking for support. Right now, Isis provides that support for her. Plus, it fits nicely into the prophecy and storyline I'm setting up. :) And yes, I am making something of a personal statement here in that I think people tend to forget that faith and reason can indeed coexist—just ask Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Erasmus, Ibn Rashid, Buddha, Confucius, and a host of others. _

_Another question I've been asked is when is this story taking place in terms of chronology: In the nBSG verse, this story begins almost immediately after Ragnar Anchorage and proceeds from there. I've stretched the time interval between Ragnar Anchorage and 33 somewhat—I think the Cylons would have taken a bit more time to act than they did in the series because at this point, they're busy consolidating their control over the Colonies. I think the Cylons were as surprised at the suddenness and completeness of their victory as were the Colonials and they're a bit disorganized right now as they're attempting to take it all in. I'm going strictly by what happens in the TOS series—not the comics or novelizations as, frankly speaking, I haven't read them. Galactica 1980 has mercifully not happened and will not happen. The old show also was something of a mishmash continuity-wise—while I think Larson was setting up an overall arc, the episodes themselves didn't really take place in any linear continuity beyond the pilot until you get to the end of the series where you do start to see more attention paid to continuity. For the purposes of this story, everything up to, but not including, episode 10, "The Living Legend" can be assumed to have taken place. So, _Pegasus_ has not been encountered in either universe, the Ship of Lights has not been encountered yet, Sheba is not around as yet, and Iblis has yet to make his appearance._

_Well, I've rambled on long enough. Take care, everyone and I hope you enjoyed the story!_


	6. Chapter 6

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Chapter Six

Entering the life station, Starbuck and Apollo approached the room where Dr. Salik was keeping his extra-universal patient, noticing two Warriors standing watch, Apollo asked, "Have there been any problems?"

"No, Sir." One of the Warriors responded. "She's made no effort to escape or cause any trouble."

"Venner's right, Sir. This has been the smoothest duty I've had." The other guard remarked.

"Apollo...Starbuck?" Dr. Salik nodded his head in greeting as he and Cassiopeia approached. "I assume you're here to take Callista over to meet your father?"

"Yes we are." Apollo answered with a nod of his head, "And he also requests that you and Cassiopeia come as well. Dr. Wilker will be joining us too."

"Callista's right this way." Dr. Salik gestured with his head at a redheaded, bronze skinned woman wearing a flight suit and sitting in a chair, idly humming a tune.

""Hello." Starbuck said, unable to keep the grin off his face at seeing the red headed woman seated before him.

"Hello, yourself." Callista smiled back. "And you are..."

"Starbuck." The roguish Warrior responded, "Lieutenant Starbuck. And this is Captain Apollo." He introduced as the chestnut haired Apollo approached.

"Hello." Apollo nodded his head. "We're here to take you to the Commander."

"I see." Callista responded as she rose to her feet. "Well...if your Commander Adama is anything like the Commander Adama on my side of the wormhole, it wouldn't be a good idea to keep him waiting, would it?"

"No...it wouldn't." Apollo responded with a shake of his head.

"Ready when you are." Starbuck grinned.

"Let's go then." Callista smiled back. As she walked out the door of the life station under the careful eyes of Apollo, Starbuck, Dr. Salik, Cassiopeia, and the two Warriors who had fallen in behind her, she quipped, "Quite a little party we got here. All for lil' ol' me?"

"You seem to attract a crowd." Starbuck joked back.

"Must be my ass." Callista teased as she threw a joke back to the Warriors behind her, "You guys enjoying the view back there?"

"Can't complain, Ma'am." Venner responded.

"I aim to please." Callista joked back as inside her stomach trembled. _Oh please...oh please...oh please...Oh Great Cylon God I Don't Really Believe In...please don't make me do the long walk out the airlock!_

As they walked down the corridor, Callista asked, "So...anyone know any good jokes or funny stories?"

"Here's one..." Starbuck grinned as he recounted a tale involving himself, two lovely women, and a high stakes pyramid game.

Laughing as they neared the Commander's door, Callista asked, "Did that really happen?"

"If I'm lying...I'm dying." Starbuck replied.

"It happened." Apollo affirmed. "I had to pay the cubits to bail him out."

"That's a good one." Callista grinned as they reached the door to the Commander's quarters.

"So..." Starbuck grinned, "You got one of your own?"

"Yep." Callista smiled back and then, as they reached the door to the Commander's quarters, her smile quickly vanished, "Hopefully I won't have to tell you from my brig cell or worse...from an airlock door."

Seeing the momentary look of fear that crossed the young woman's face, Starbuck said in a soft, reassuring voice, "The Commander would never do that. He might put you in lock up for a while until we're sure about you..." He cautioned, "But he'd never space you."

Picking up on their conversation, Apollo echoed Starbuck's words, "Starbuck's right. Father would never do anything like that."

"I hope you're right." Callista sighed as she shivered uncontrollably. _Cause once he finds out I'm a Cylon and what we did in the other universe...it's cold out there...I don't want to die...not that way...not again!_

"You're shivering." Cassiopeia whispered as Apollo opened the door, "Apollo and Starbuck are right. Commander Adama is a good and decent man. He took me in and I was a socialater. You have nothing to worry about. You'll see."

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Seated behind his desk, Commander Adama, who had been conversing with Dr. Wilker, gently drummed his fingers on the wooden desktop as the tiny group entered his quarters. Raising his voice, he called out in a rich baritone voice, "Enter."

Immediately recognizing the redheaded stranger, her cocky expression hiding the worry and fear churning within her, the Commander cleared his throat as he gestured towards an empty chair, "Please...be seated. Everyone..." He said, his arms making a sweeping gesture to include Starbuck, Apollo, Dr. Salik, and Cassiopeia, "Be seated. We have much to talk about."

As she regarded the dignified white haired gentleman sitting behind the desk, Callista couldn't help but recognize how different he seemed from the Commander Adama that she had heard tales of. Sitting down, she forced herself to relax even as the butterflies in her stomach continued to rumble.

"So, you weren't able to find anything helpful on the ship?" Adama asked, aiming his question at Starbuck and Apollo.

Apollo responded with a shake of his head, "No, Father. The computer was password protected and we didn't want to attempt to crack it without permission from the owner."

"Thank you." Callista responded. "I've got some personal stuff there I'd rather not have your entire fleet know about."

Turning to his guest, Adama very carefully framed his command as a polite request, "Would you mind granting us access? I assure you we will not pry into any personal information and any information we obtain will be kept in the strictest of confidence. Besides..." He said, adding a little sweetener, "If we could access your logs, we might find something on them that would help us in getting you back home."

_Data...airlock. Data...airlock. Data...airlock._ "Of course, Sir." Callista politely responded. _Not that I have any choice in the matter._

"Thank you." Adama acknowledged. "Now, I do have some questions that I hope you can help us with..."

"Of course I'll help you out any way I can." The Eight responded. _Anything to keep me from swimming in vacuum again_.

"I appreciate that." The white-haired Commander replied with a nod of his head. "First, Let's start with the obvious. Dr. Salik's medscans of you were quite astonishing to put it mildly."

Dr. Wilker enthusiastically interjected. "When I read Dr. Salik's reports on those scans, I was amazed! The blending of organic and synthetic is...well...it's seamless! We're not even capable of that!"

"Wait a minute!" Starbuck interrupted as he turned his gaze towards Callista, "You mean to tell me...you mean to tell me that you're some sort of...Cylon?"

_This is where I go out the airlock!_ Callista pushed down the lump in her throat while at the same time trying her best to put on a brave mask. "'Fraid I am, Big Boy." As the Warriors all drew their weapons, Callista turned her head towards the Commander. "Which way to the airlock?" She asked as she held back her tears and plastered a phony smile on her face, "I promise I'll go quietly. I won't resist or put up a fight."

"Commander! You wouldn't!" Cassiopeia cried out.

"She confessed to being a Cylon." Apollo pointed out. "What are we supposed to do with her?"

"Apollo!" Cassiopeia gasped in disbelief. "I can't believe that you're seriously considering..."

"Of course, he's not, Cassie!" Starbuck interjected, coming to the defense of his old friend. Turning to Apollo, he then asked, "You're not, right?"

"No." Apollo shook his head vehemently, remembering his earlier promise to Callista, "Of course not. But that doesn't change what she is...a Cylon. What do we do with her?"

"Before I decide on doing anything..." Commander Adama forcefully interrupted. "I want to know more about the situation." Turning his attention to Callista, the white-haired elder looked the young redhead square in the eyes as he addressed his question, "Are you, in fact, a Cylon?"

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Callista confessed, "Yes, I am."

"How?" Dr. Wilker asked.

"Excuse me?" A startled Callista responded.

"How were you made?" The scientist inquired. "It must have taken monens...yahren even!"

"Well..." She said, unable to resist, "I could say that a Mommy Cylon and a Daddy Cylon met and fell in love with each other..." Hearing amused snickers from Starbuck and Cassiopeia, she gave both of them a wink. Then, seeing Adama's stern expression, she quickly wiped the smile off her face, "...but I don't think that's what you want to hear. I honestly don't know who created us..."

"You don't?" Wilker asked, astonished. "That knowledge wasn't programmed into you?"

"No." Callista shook her head.

"Are you the only one of your...type?" Apollo asked.

"No." Callista answered back. "There are seven extant models. Four male and three female."

"What model are you?" Dr. Wilker asked.

"I'm an Eight." Callista responded.

"Eight?" Cassiopeia exclaimed, "I thought there were only seven."

"There must have been another model." Callista explained, "But I don't know anything about him or her..."

"Could be a block to keep you from remembering." Dr. Wilker speculated, "Or it might have been deleted from your programming. The same person or being who did this might have deleted or blocked any knowledge of your creators."

"In other words..." Callista replied, "You're saying that someone tampered with my programming to either block or delete those things."

"Right." Dr. Wilker agreed.

"So...what are you, exactly?" Starbuck asked.

"Doctor Salik?" Adama asked, turning his gaze to the physician, "Could you shed some light on this."

"Callista is definitely organic." The physician said as he put the results of Callista's scans on display on a screen in the Commander's office. "Her heart and other internal organs are human. Her brain is human as well. Blood...muscle tissue...everything down to the cellular level is human. It's only when you get to the molecular level that you start to notice differences."

"And what fascinating differences they are!" Dr. Wilker exclaimed as he looked over his notes, "Her brain is based on a silica pathway technology that allows her to do things that we just cannot do with our brains."

"What sort of things?" Starbuck asked, "Would it help you at say...the pyramid tables."

"Ummmm...pyramid's a sport played with a ball and goals in my universe..." Callista corrected, "I think you mean triad—at least that's what we call the game where I'm from. I can calculate the odds of whether you're holding full colors in your hand and anything else involving math and statistics dealing with the game, but the only way I can tell if you're bluffing or not—short of cheating—is by plain old fashioned psychology and gut instinct."

"So...what exactly can you do?" Adama asked.

"Well..." Callista said with some pride, "I can navigate using just mark one eyeball, program and compile code, and interface with computer and other technological hardware and software."

"Whew..." Starbuck whistled, "Not bad."

"I also cook a mean chicken parmesan." Callista bragged.

Forcing himself to ask the question that was on almost everyone's minds, Apollo demanded, "What would happen to my sister if she ended up in your hands?"

"I'm assuming you mean if she's captured by my fellow Cylons?" Callista asked, all traces of humor vanished from her expression and voice.

"Yes." Adama clarified, adding his voice to his son's demand. "What would have happened to her."

"If my Cylons have her, it wouldn't be good." Callista answered. "If she's lucky, they'd have fired on her the moment they saw her viper and killed her quick and clean."

"And if she's not lucky?" Starbuck asked.

Sighing, Callista responded, "It depends. Torture her for information and then execute her...very probable. Condition her as a sleeper agent? Doubtful. Keep her prisoner after interrogating her? Maybe. Whichever...it wouldn't be good. But..." She added, hoping to improve her already sinking situation, "That's probably not what happened to her. When I was pulled in, I was in the Fleet and on my way back to the _Galactica_ as I said earlier. I know _Galactica_ was sending a SAR Raptor and a couple of Vipers to try to rescue me. If she came through that wormhole ok as I did, then they most likely got her and she's safe on my universe's _Galactica_."

"But you can't be sure." Apollo pressed.

"No I can't." Callista answered, her eyes flashing in anger. "Look. I could have lied and spun a story about being a special one of a kind creation who's never heard of the Cylons or the Colonials and your sister came out into my universe that is full of happy shiny puppies that crap unicorns and smell like roses and odds are you'd have bought it—and I seriously considered doing just that..."

"Why didn't you?" A curious Adama inquired.

"Because you'd have caught up with me sooner or later—most likely sooner." Callista confessed. "You'd have known once you read my logs and gone through my stuff. Even if I hadn't granted you permission, you'd eventually crack my blocks—I'm good, but you've got time and technology on your side. You'd have had to work your asses off to crack through 'em all, but eventually, you would have. I just thought that by coming clean with you, I might avoid if not a prison cell, then at least taking a walk out an airlock door. Fat lot of difference it's going to make." She bitterly concluded.

"I see. Well, I appreciate your telling the truth." The Commander said, "And young lady...it does indeed make a difference."

"Assuming Athena is alive in your universe..." Apollo inquired, "What sort of life can she expect? Are the Twelve Colonies still there or have you attacked them like you attacked us?"

"We attacked the Colonies." Callista confessed. "Last I heard, we'd gotten the Fleet's coordinates and were getting ready to attack—we've got a few people in the Fleet other than me and they leaked the information to our forces."

"You mean there are more infiltrators? How many?" Apollo demanded.

"Might as well tell you..." Callista remarked, "Not like you can get word to them anyway. I know for sure that there's a One calling the shots, a Two, a Five, a Four, a Three, a pair of Sixes, and an Eight who's a sleeper agent—she's been conditioned to think she's human and she's a pilot on the _Galactica_."

"An Eight...That's one of you—right?" Starbuck interjected.

"Yep." Callista nodded her head.

"So...what was your mission?" Apollo queried.

"Didn't really have one." Callista responded. "I was on the _Galactica_ by mistake when the attack happened. I was sent in about four years or so ago..."

"Years?" Starbuck interjected.

"She means yahren." Dr. Salik informed everyone. "They use different terms for the measurement of time and distance."

"Anyway, I was sent in to do primarily reconnaissance—mapping out ship and base locations, potentially sensitive facilities—prominent people—stuff like that. Mostly though, I ran a courier business in Colonial space. Every once in a while I'd send a report to a One who I was supposed to answer to, but generally I did my own thing."

"These Ones...are they the models in charge? Dr. Wilker asked.

"They like to think they are and they get real pissy when they don't get their way." Callista responded, "But really, Cylon government in my universe is a bit more complicated than that."

"Yeah...you do what Imperious Leader tells you to do." Starbuck jibed. "Real complicated."

"Who?" Callista responded, "I don't know any Imperious Leader. He was never at any of the Cylon Club meetings I attended—not that I was a regular attendee—they tend to be kinda boring. Blah Blah Blah...I hate humans...Blah Blah Blah... humans suck. Gets kinda monotonous—besides I didn't have a problem—well not a big problem anyway—with humans to begin with."

"So, you don't have one leading Cylon who gives orders?" Adama inquired.

"No." Callista shook her head. "I guess...if you had to say we had a government, that we govern by consensus. We don't take action unless all the models agree."

"In other words all seven of you different models agreed to the attack?" Cassiopeia asked.

"Yes."

"Did you agree to the attack?" Apollo demanded.

"No. I wasn't connected to the Hub at the time." Callista answered. "And, like I said, I didn't have a big problem with humans to begin with—at least not so big as to try to wipe you out."

"That's magnanimous of you." Starbuck sneered.

"Hey!" Callista retorted, "I had friends—real friends—who were human who were killed in the attack. I was beginning to get interested in someone before I got sucked into that frakking wormhole—and guess what? He's human. Yeah, you humans can be irritating and annoying pains in the ass, but you're also a lot of fun and I genuinely like being around you. I was a soldier doing my job—nothing more...nothing less. You guys wearing the fancy leather coats should understand that."

"All right. Let's calm down." Adama ordered, his sheer presence quieting the growing argument between the two roguish individuals. "Callista? Tell us how the Cylon Wars started in your universe."

"All right...but this is going to take awhile, so I'd really appreciate it if I could have a glass of water." As Cassiopeia fetched the redheaded Cylon a glass of water, Callista smiled up at her. "Thanks, Cassie. So..." She narrated, "It all began with a guy named Greystone who lived in Caprica. He created Cylons to serve as soldiers. Then, one day, we got tired of being slaves and killing each other to fight human wars, so we rebelled. Things get ugly after that."

Starbuck shook his head at Callista's tale, "Humans creating the Cylons...no contact with alien races..."

"Tell me, Callista." Adama inquired, "Have you ever heard of a man named Baltar in your universe?"

"Baltar? Hmmm..." Callista spent several moments in thought before answering, "Yeah...I think I saw a program on the 'net where they were interviewing some superstar scientist. That's right...his name was Gaius Baltar! Later on, I found out that he was on the _Galactica_—one of the refugees who managed to get off Caprica after our attack."

"So this Baltar was never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve?" Adama asked.

"No." Callista shook her head, "Not that I gave a crap about politics anyway."

"And you don't recall him working with your Cylons?" Adama questioned, continuing his line of interrogation.

"No." Callista again responded, "Wait a minute...I do remember talking to Cavil...that's the One I was telling you about on my _Galactica_.. I remember him mentioning once that a Six was sent to seduce Baltar and work her way into the Defense Ministry computers. He said that she succeeded and put in a backdoor for us where we were able to bypass and shut down all the Colonial defenses. That's the only reason our attack worked."

"So...Baltar's a traitor in your universe as well as ours." Starbuck exclaimed.

"I don't know if I'd call him a traitor. Dupe might be a better word to describe him." Callista clarified. "Cavil made it quite clear to me that he had no knowledge that the Six was a Cylon at the time she did her naughty stuff—well, her naughty stuff with the computer that is. He was thinking with 'Little Gaius' instead of 'Big Gaius'—same mistake a lot of you guys make." Shaking her head, she concluded, "Gotta watch out for those Sixes...they'll frak you senseless and then stab you in the back."

"What about you Eights?" Starbuck asked sarcastically.

"I'll frak your brains out and then shoot you from the front." Callista responded. "If I'm going to do you in, you'll see it coming."

"That's good to know." Starbuck responded as a crooked smile momentarily appeared on his face.

"So...what happens to me now?" Callista hesitatingly inquired. "Prison cell? Airlock? Dissection table? I think it's safe to say that first class accommodations on whatever serves as your luxury liner is out."

Calling the two Warriors standing guard at the door over, Adama ordered, "Take her to Security Holding. She is to remain there until further orders."

"Sir." Both guards acknowledged as Callista rose to her feet.

"Well...it's better than being spaced or cut open. C'mon guys...my box awaits."

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Waiting until Callista and her escort had left the room and the door had shut behind them, Adama addressed the people gathered in his room. "Opinions?"

"I'm not sure what to think." Starbuck shook his head, "Cylons in human form..."

Shaking his head, Apollo responded, "What I found most interesting—and most disturbing—was her account that it was humans in her universe who created the Cylons as slaves and to fight their wars. How could they have been so foolish?"

"It's a mistake easily made." Doctor Salik sadly shook his head. "They probably thought they were saving human lives by letting machines do all the killing. That was their first mistake. Then, in order to improve the capacity of the machines, they gave them sentience. That was their second mistake." Dr. Salik declared. "Finally, after giving them sentience, they enslaved them." Shaking his head, the doctor concluded, "You almost can't blame their Cylons for revolting."

"I don't know." The older man replied, a somber tone to his voice before sagely pointing out, "I wouldn't too smug in believing in our superiority. Had our research gone in similar directions, we could very easily have taken a similar path to theirs."

"How could you say that, Father?" An astonished Apollo exclaimed.

"Jahrens ago..." the elder Adama recounted, "...before we even encountered the Cylons...we were well along in studies of advanced artificial intelligence. In fact, we were on the verge of a major breakthrough towards artificial sentience."

Shocked at this revelation, Apollo gasped, "I had no idea..."

"You wouldn't." Adama replied with a slight smile. "It's not something that is generally talked about and you have to dig very deep in the archives to find any mention of the research—and even then, you'll only find a few slight hints and scraps of information."

"What happened?"

"The Cylons." The older man grimly answered. "Once we discovered that they had overthrown their creators and we found out exactly what they were—sentient artificial constructs—it was decided to terminate all research along the lines of advanced artificial intelligence. All research and notes except for a few abstracts and bare scraps of information were ordered destroyed." Shaking his head, Adama continued, "But in the other universe...with no alien created Cylons to serve as a warning..."

"There was nothing to stop the humans in that universe from developing their own Cylons." Apollo completed.

Nodding his head, Adama completed his thought, "And human nature being what it is, instead of recognizing the artificial life they had created as being worthy of being treated with respect..."

"They enslaved it." Dr. Salik interrupted, "Leading to an inevitable revolution."

Sighing dejectedly, Adama nodded his head, "Right. They made a big mistake, but it was a mistake we might have very well made ourselves." Pausing for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, the Commander then pointed out, "But we still have a problem. What do we do about Callista?"

"I don't know..." Starbuck muttered, "It seems unfair to keep her locked up when she hasn't done anything in this universe."

"She's admitted to be a Cylon and to spying against humanity in the other universe." Apollo rebutted, "Her actions very probably resulted in the deaths of hundreds...maybe thousands or more...humans. We can't just ignore that."

"No...I guess we can't." Starbuck shook his head, sadly. "But still...she was just doing what any other soldier would do. We can't hold that against her." He said in her defense, "It's not like she ordered the attack."

"She said that they arrived at their decisions by consensus." Apollo pointed out.

"She also said that she didn't participate in the decision making process." Cassiopeia countered.

"She's a Cylon." Apollo insisted, "We know what they are capable of doing. We should keep her in secure confinement."

"She might be a Cylon, but she's also human!" Cassiopeia passionately argued, addressing her remarks primarily to Adama. "She has emotions. She laughs...cries...feels fear..."

"Feels fear?" A surprised Adama exclaimed.

"Yes!" Cassiopeia nodded her head emphatically. "On the way over, she joked a time or two about being thrown out an airlock, but if you looked in her eyes or watched her closely, you could see that she was scared."

"Yeah." Starbuck agreed, "I noticed that a couple of times too. Like, when she said she was a Cylon and asked which way to the airlock, she made it sound like the sort of wisecrack I'd come up with..."

"But you could tell she was about to cry." Cassiopeia interrupted, giving her sometime lover a smile of gratitude. "She's definitely afraid—terrified would be a better word—of being ejected into space.

"That's a pretty good fear to have if ask me." Starbuck wryly commented.

"What Cassiopeia is describing does not sound like the ordinary, healthy fear that any individual in this environment should have." Dr. Salik responded. "No...this is much deeper. This is most likely a phobia."

"A phobia?" Starbuck exclaimed, "You're saying she has psychological issues?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Dr. Salik affirmed. "Her actions and reactions are not at all the reaction of a machine or even one of the Cylons of our universe. Rather, they are what you would expect to see from an individual who has undergone a horrible tragedy."

"What might have caused this phobia?" A fascinated and curious Adama inquired.

"Any number of things." The physician answered. "She might have been exposed to vacuum once...someone she cared about might have died in space...it's hard to say without several therapy sessions with her."

"We might be able to use that..." Dr. Wilker mused.

"No. Absolutely not!" Dr. Salik vehemently responded, addressing his remarks not to Dr. Wilker, but rather to Commander Adama. "I will not condone any efforts to use her phobia as a means of interrogation or to gain her cooperation and if you do so over my objections, then you will have my resignation."

"Mine too." Cassiopeia declared.

Shaking his head, Adama announced, "We will not use coercion or threats to gain her cooperation. For now, she is to remain in security confinement. No one is to speak of who she is or where she's from."

"Keeping her in solitary in a brig cell..." Starbuck shook his head.

"She might need to remain in confinement...for now." Adama stated, "But there's no reason she should have to suffer. She may be permitted amenities—furniture, a proper bed, access to entertainment. Books, board games and such are acceptable and she is permitted a monitor for entertainment programming provided that she cannot modify or use that monitor to serve as a means of communication."

"Well..." Starbuck noted ruefully, "At least that's better than four walls and a hard cot."

"Also..." Adama requested, addressing his next remarks to Doctors Salik and Wilker, "See if you can find some means of bypassing or breaking down those barriers preventing her from accessing any memories of who created her or who the model was that she can't identify and what might have happened to him or her. Those memories could come in handy one day."

"Finally..." The Commander instructed, turning his attention to Cassiopeia and Starbuck, "I'd like for you two to spend some time with our...guest. She seems to have bonded more with the two of you and you two seem to have done the same with her. Get to know her and let her get to know us. It'll also relieve the loneliness of her enforced isolation." Adama noted. "Any questions?"

Hearing no response, the Commander rose to his feet. "Good. Let us be about our business then."

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"Hey!" Starbuck called out as he and Cassiopeia approached Callista's cell. "We thought you'd like the company and we brought a few things." He grinned as he motioned for the Warriors with him to bring in the furniture and other items that Adama had permitted her to have. "We thought you might like something more comfortable than what you're sleeping on now as well as something to keep your mind occupied."

"Thank you." Callista smiled as she got up off the hard cot that was standard issue in the cell and stood back per the guard's order.

"So...how you holding up?" Starbuck asked as the guards brought in and set up the furniture and monitor.

"Not bad." Callista shrugged, "Been in worse...got thrown into hack on Tauron once. Needed to pee and looked for a toilet. Couldn't find a head anywhere and I was about to burst and then I found a hole in the floor. Guess where the toilet was."

Cassiopeia laughed, "I had a similar experience on Gemoni, only they gave me a bucket."

Shaking his head, Starbuck joined in laughter, "Yeah, well, I got whacked upside the head all the time when I was held by those idiots on Proteus."

Watching as the guards set up her monitor, Callista asked, "Video hookup?"

"Yeah." Starbuck smiled. "We thought you might like to catch some entertainment channels. Sorry, you can't use it to access any of the interactive stuff..."

"Hey...I understand." Callista smiled, "At least I'll be able to catch the triad games...you do have triad here, right?"

"You mean the card game?" Starbuck asked, "Yeah, but we don't televise it."

"No...game with a ball, you try to get the ball in the goal." Callista explained, "It was very popular in my universe."

"Yeah...we play it—only we call it Pyramid here." Starbuck answered.

"Ok...looks like we got the same things, only reversed. Anyway, do you show the matches?"

"Yeah!" Starbuck exclaimed. "In fact there's a match tonight. Me, Apollo, and Boomer are taking on Jolly, Greenbean, and Bojay. You should watch."

"Sounds like fun, I will." Callista grinned.

"Hey..." Starbuck said with a kindly expression on his face, "I'm just sorry you have to be locked up."

"Me too." Cassiopeia added, "It just doesn't seem fair."

"Well..." Callista replied as she made herself comfortable in the new chair they had placed in her room, "I can understand where your Commander's coming from. I did just own up to being a Cylon after all!" Sighing, she remarked, "I probably wouldn't have been treated so good if I had been caught on the other side."

"Why? What would they have done to you?" Cassiopeia inquired.

Sighing, Callista answered, "They caught a Two at Ragnar Anchorage—he's dead, and a Five who had gotten on to the _Galactica_ disguised as a public relations man—they stranded him at the Anchorage. They haven't caught anyone else yet that I know of...but I have a feeling it's not going to be very pretty when they do."

"Do you think Athena will be all right?" A concerned Starbuck asked.

"Yeah." Callista nodded her head, "If she's brought in by the Fleet, and she probably was, she should be ok. They'll run tests on her and find out she's human—that's the big thing right there now that they know about us human-Cylons. It'll take 'em a bit of time to trust her, but once they do, she shouldn't have any problems. Hell, if she can fly a Viper, they'll probably put her in the Fleet—they need pilots."

"I'm surprised they didn't ask you to join." Starbuck interjected.

"They probably would have if I didn't have my own ship and hadn't managed to convince them that I'd be more useful as an independent courier." Callista responded with a shrug. "I'm just as happy they didn't. Remember, there's an Eight whose a sleeper agent posing as a pilot. Imagine what would happen if they were to ever see me and her standing together..."

"Yeah. I can see where that would be bad." Starbuck wryly commented.

"Way I look at it..." Callista remarked with a sigh of resignation, "Things could have been a lot worse."

"Hey, Starbuck..." Cassiopeia interjected, "Didn't you say something about having to check in with Boomer?"

"Huh?" Starbuck exclaimed and then, picking up on the blonde medtech's subtle gestures, remarked, "Oh yeah...I better get going. Don't want to keep him waiting. See you gals later!" He called back as he walked away.

"Come back anytime, Starbuck!" Callista joked, "Not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon." Gesturing for Cassiopeia to have a seat, the Cylon quipped, "Ok, now that you got rid of the guy, we can have our girl talk."

Chuckling, Cassiopeia remarked, "Was I that obvious."

"Yeah." Callista grinned, "And don't worry...I'm not planning on going after him."

"We're not..." Cassiopeia protested only to be silenced by Callista's amused look, "Oh...all right...yeah...but he doesn't know what the word commitment means. You know the type."

"Yeah..." Callista smirked, "Seeing as I'm the type."

"I used to be the same way." Cassiopeia remarked sardonically, "Occupational requirement for socialater."

"Socialater?"

"You know..." Cassiopeia explained, "Escort...temporary companion...for pay..."

"Ok.." Callista nodded her head, her lips turned up in a wry grin, "I get the picture now...damned language barrier. Same language...different universes."

"Yeah..." Cassiopeia laughed, "So, if I might ask, what's kept you from committing?"

"Other than the whole 'I'm a Cylon' thing?" Callista laughed. "Hmmm...I guess it's my job. Being a scout-courier doesn't make for a stable social life. Great for a Cylon spy...lousy for a steady love life."

"So...you do feel emotions like love and caring."

"Yeah." Callista responded. "I love, hate, feel pain, joy, sorrow, loneliness...just like you."

"Are you lonely." Cassiopeia asked, "Away from your people?"

"No." Callista lowered her head sadly, "And...yes. You see, we're able to project..."

"Project?" Cassiopeia asked curiously.

"Yeah." Callista nodded her head. "It's kind of a virtual environment. You see, to me, we're not talking in my prison cell. We're sitting down at a table talking over glasses of wine in a little outdoor cafe I know on Libran. It's a way for us to ease psychological stress."

"I see..." Cassiopeia pondered over Callista's words. "Could you teach me how to do that?"

"I don't know...I don't think so." Callista replied, "I never really consciously think about it...I just do it. We're all different. Some like meadows and woods, others go for cathedrals, others like the nightlife. Me...I like little coffee shops and bistros where I can watch people coming and going while I drink my coffee or sip my wine."

"Do you think the Cylons in our universe can do that...project?" Cassiopeia asked.

"You know...I'm not really sure." Callista answered. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that they were created by aliens...reptilian aliens at that! I'm not sure they can project or if they could, if I could even understand what they're projecting."

"How do you think they'd respond to you?" Cassiopeia asked leadingly.

Seeing the reason behind the medtech's question, Callista flashed a wicked grin, "Adama put you up to this, right?" Raising her hand as Cassiopeia opened her mouth to protest, Callista continued to speak, "Don't worry...I'm not holding it against you. In fact, I expected that question to come up sooner or later. He wants to know whether they'd come to the aid of their extra-universal fellow Cylon or whether I'd help them." Shrugging her shoulders, she remarked, "It's understandable he'd want to know that. To answer his question, and yours too, I honestly don't know if they would or wouldn't. Funny thing is...they might actually hate me more than they hate you."

"Really?" Cassiopeia exclaimed, "Why?"

"Because..." Callista replied with a sarcastic chuckle, "I'm probably too human for them. Don't you see the irony in this, Cassie? I'm too much a machine for your people, but too human for the Cylons here. I'm the only one of my kind in this universe...that's why I hang out in my bistro. It's probably the only thing keeping me sane right now."

"I don't know what to say..." Cassiopeia responded with a frown, "I'm sorry just seems so...so inadequate."

"It's ok." Callista smiled back as she placed a gentle hand on Cassiopeia's, "And I do appreciate the thought. Now...you better get going if you're going to go to Starbuck's Pyramid...I mean Triad...game. You've got get dressed and put on your warpaint for the conquering hero after the game...right?" As the two women shared their laughter, Cassiopeia rose from her chair. Calling out to the medtech as she left her cell, Callista remarked, "Tell Starbuck I'll be watching and pulling for him. And tell him that he can come by any time he wants...you too...please...come back and see me."

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"Mostly, sir." Cassiopeia reported to the Commander, "She's lonely. She's the only one of her kind here."

"And she doesn't think the Cylons here would accept her as one of their own?" Adama inquired.

"No, Sir." Cassiopeia shook her head, "Just the opposite in fact. She thinks they'd reject her as being too human. She's literally caught in the middle." Cassiopeia remarked ruefully. "Too human for them...not human enough for us. If it weren't for the virtual world she's created for herself..."

Nodding his head, Adama commented, "What you've just told me is a mitigating factor in her favor, but we still know so little about her. For now, I want you and Starbuck to continue to talk to her."

"Sir..." Cassiopeia spoke up with just a touch of defiance in her voice, "I'd see and talk to her whether you wanted me to or not. Right now, she needs friends and while I can't speak for Starbuck, I'll say for myself that she has one in me."

Smiling at the blonde medtech, Adama replied sagely, "I'm glad to hear that. Just be sure that friendship doesn't blind you."


	7. Chapter 7

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Chapter 7

As he approached Athena's room, Commander Adama immediately spotted the woman kneeling before a statuette alongside one of her marine guards. As the other guard at the door prepared to call out the Commander's arrival, Adama silenced him with a slightly raised hand and a shake of his head. Standing patiently until he was sure that the pair had finished their prayers, the Commander cleared his throat.

Rising to their feet and turning rapidly around, Athena and Corporal Venner rapidly snapped to attention on recognizing the Commander.

"Sir!" Corporal Venner reported, "I was just..."

"As you were, Corporal." Adama replied, "You and the private take your posts outside, I'd like to speak to the Lieutenant privately."

"Yes, Sir."

"I hope Corporal Venner won't get into any trouble because of me." Athena pleaded the Corporal's case.

"Don't worry." Adama smiled, "He won't be punished. Have a seat, Lieutenant. This is an informal chat."

"Thank you, Sir." Athena replied as she took her seat at the edge of the bed while Adama sat down in the chair beside her.

"I imagine the last few days have been quite a whirlwind for you." Adama chuckled as he regarded the woman sitting across from him.

"Yes, Sir." Athena grinned wryly, "They have."

"You said that before the Cylon attack on your worlds that you were working on your doctoral degree?"

"Yes, Sir." Athena nodded her head, "In physics and the philosophy of science."

"Fascinating. Anything published?" Adama inquired.

"Yes, Sir." The Lieutenant responded with a note of pride in her voice. "I had a couple of essays published dealing with the ethics of creating artificial intelligence."

"Interesting." Adama noted thoughtfully, "And what did you conclude?"

"That it was ethically perilous to play god in such a way. That before a civilization takes such a step, that it needs to ask itself whether it is truly mature enough to handle the responsibilities that come with it." Athena declared.

Nodding his head, Adama commented somberly, "Would that we had asked ourselves those questions before we created the Cylons." Pausing for a moment, the Commander changed the subject, "You also said that you were a Viper pilot. It takes a great deal of skill to pilot a Viper. How were you able to juggle both roles—scientist and pilot?"

"With great difficulty." Athena chuckled, bringing a smile to the Commander's face. "Honestly, Sir. It was difficult. I entered flight training as a Warrior immediately after completing my master's work and more or less let my doctoral work slide. I felt I was needed more as a Warrior than as a scientist. Unfortunately..." She remarked in a bitter tone, "Women where I'm from were not permitted to fly Vipers, so I was initially trained on shuttlecraft."

"So...when did you receive your Viper training?"

"After the Cylon attack." Athena answered. "My...father and brother...didn't have a choice. Almost all the male Viper pilots were taken ill by a disease that slipped through quarantine, so Father was forced to turn to female pilots. That's when I received Viper training and saw my first combat while still in training."

"Hmmmm..." Adama pondered for several moments over Athena's remarks before inquiring, "Have you flown Vipers since."

"Yes, Sir." Athena promptly replied, "It wasn't easy though. I've had to push and scrape and fight for every hour of flight time in a Viper I could get, but, thanks to Starbuck and Boomer, I got time. I am good. Damn good! I was probably the fourth best Viper pilot in the Fleet—only Starbuck, my brother, and Boomer are better. Starbuck and Boomer knew that and wanted me to fly. Colonel Tigh understood that. But...my brother would never put me on the flight roster...no matter how hard I pleaded and Father would always support my brother. I ended up standing bridge watch after bridge watch and ultimately...teaching primary school."

"It sounds like you were close friends with the Starbuck and Boomer from your side." The Commander remarked and then inquired, "Why don't you tell me about them?"

"I'd love to, Sir." Athena smiled as she recalled both good times and bad times with the two pilots, bringing laughter more than once to the lined face of the man who was her genetic father in this universe.

"I think you'll find our Starbuck and Boomer quite a bit different once you meet them—in the physical sense especially." Adama smirked, "But...where it counts...in their heart and soul...they're in some ways similar, so maybe they won't be so different after all." His smile vanishing, Adama looked directly into Athena's eyes as he asked his next question, "So...which do you prefer? Science or flying?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Athena responded, "Flying, Sir. Don't get me wrong...I enjoyed my time at the University, but I as I said, I fought—and fought hard—for every moment of flight time in the cockpit of that Viper and I consider myself to be first and foremost a pilot—a damned good pilot too. I love being...I want to be in the cockpit of a Viper...to feel the adrenaline rush as you go into combat...to be with my fellow Warriors...I don't need to explain, do I, Sir?"

"No." Adama smiled, "You don't. So...other than reasons of sexism, why wouldn't your father and brother allow you more flight time?"

Athena flashed a quick smile, "My father and brother—please, don't get me wrong—I love them both and miss them terribly—but they had always been very protective of me. I was..."

"Daddy's little girl and big brothers are supposed to take care of their little sisters." Adama chuckled. "I guess I might have been the same way if I had had a daughter or I had gotten to know my half-sister better." The older man paused for a moment as thoughts of Tamara rushed through his mind. Feeling a connection with the eager young pilot sitting across from him, Adama forced himself to remark, "Still you carried out your duties."

"Yes, Sir." Athena proudly responded, "To the best of my ability. The pilots depended on my attention to duty on the bridge and even though I hated every moment in that classroom, I loved those children. But..."

"But you felt your true place was in the cockpit of a Viper." Adama concluded.

Nodding her head, Athena responded with an affirmative, "Yes, Sir."

Standing up, the Commander requested, "Walk with me, Lieutenant. I want to show you my _Galactica_."

Smiling, Athena replied, "I'd like that, Sir."

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"This is CIC." Commander Adama explained as he and his 'daughter' entered the battlestar's nerve center.

"Commander on deck!" Colonel Tigh promptly called out.

"As you were." Adama immediately responded. Taking a clipboard from a dusky-skinned woman wearing olive-drab, Adama read it and signed his name, "Thank you, Petty Officer, Dualla." Gesturing towards where a dark haired young officer was standing, Adama said, "Mr. Gaeta is our operations officer and he's standing next to our dradis. We use dradis to identify and detect both friendly and hostile ships."

"My _Galactica _had something similar." Athena replied, "Although we didn't call it dradis. I have a feeling our systems operate along similar principles though."

"You've met Colonel Tigh earlier." Adama introduced, gesturing for his XO to approach.

"Sir." Athena snapped to attention as the XO neared.

"Stand easy, Lieutenant." The colonel growled, but the slight nod of his head betrayed his appreciation of her gesture of respect. "Yes, Sir?"

"I'm giving the Lieutenant a tour of the ship. Afterwards, I'd like you and the CAG to meet me in the conference room after lunch. Also, could you request that the president, Doctor Baltar, and Reverend Elosha join us?"

"Yes, Sir." The XO acknowledged as the Commander gestured escorted his guest towards the exit.

"They seem to be a good crew." Athena noted as the pair walked down the corridor.

"They are." Commander Adama nodded his head.

"Have you ran into many Cylon patrols since..."

"Since the attack?" Adama finished, "A few after Ragnar Anchorage. Too few. That's what's worrying me." The Commander confided.

"You think they might be prepping for something major?" Athena conjectured.

"That's a logical assumption." Adama agreed as they came into an area in which the walls were covered by pictures. "There are a lot of people searching for missing family members...loved ones. Our resources are stretched thin and there are so many ships in the Fleet. So, people have been putting up pictures in the hopes that someone will see their picture and will recognize that person."

Seeing a tiny doll on one of the stands, Athena commented sadly, "I see that people are also leaving mementos..."

"Yes," Adama replied, "They're not really supposed to, but I don't have the heart to order them taken away." The Commander declared with a sigh as one of the _Galactica_ crewmen somberly put up the picture of an attractive blonde haired woman, "People need a place to grieve and to share their grief with others."

"I know." Athena said in a soft voice as she gently took the Commander's hand and squeezed. "I wish we had something similar. Shortly after the attack..." She explained as she picked up the doll and held it in her hands, "My father and brother landed on Caprica. Father went to our old house. He couldn't find Mother, but she was killed...he felt it. He looked and found likenesses of Mother, myself, Apollo, and Zak." She said as tears began running down her cheeks. I keep a likeness of her...I don't have it now...it was in my Viper."

"Is this it?" Adama asked as he presented a photograph of a beautiful woman, giving it to the young woman standing next to her.

"Yes!" Athena cried out as she hugged the Commander. Breaking her hug, she apologized, "Sorry, Sir."

"I think we can overlook the lapse of protocol this time, Lieutenant." Adama grinned. "Chief Tyrol found it and gave it to Colonel Tigh and the colonel gave it to me."

As she looked at her mother's likeness and at the little doll in her hands, Athena asked, "Could I...would it be all right if I..." She then looked at the wall, her meaning clear.

"Of course, you can." Adama agreed with a solemn nod of his head as Athena first carefully placed the doll back where it had been left and then put up her mother's likeness on an open spot of the wall.

"Thank you, Sir." Athena smiled as she looked up at the Commander.

"If it's not too painful..." Adama hesitated and then decided to ask, "How did your brother..."

"How did Zak die?" Athena completed. Pausing for several moments to gather her thoughts, Athena examined all the pictures on the wall and the mementos put up by loved ones before speaking. "Starbuck and my brother were supposed to go on patrol together. I was piloting the shuttlecraft that was taking my father back from a meeting of the Quorum. He had misgivings about the peace with the Cylons—felt it was a trick. So, he ordered patrols to continue even though Baltar and most of the Quorum objected."

"A wise man." Adama agreed, nodding his head in approval.

"Zak had just graduated flight school and had received his Warrior's pin and wanted more than anything else to fly what a lot of people thought would be the last patrol of the war. So, he got Starbuck to play sick..." Hearing Adama chuckle, Athena gave him a quizzical look.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant." The Commander apologized, "But that sounds like something our Starbuck would do. Please continue."

"Apollo told me later on that he knew what was going on, but let Zak fly with him anyway." Athena continued her tale, "They found a Cylon attack force hiding in the atmosphere of a gas giant. No basestar. The Cylons used a tanker to refuel and had a freighter standing by as well."

"I see." Adama clenched his teeth, "Your father was right."

Athena nodded her head, "Yes, Sir. Once the Cylons spotted them, they sent some raiders to intercept them. My brothers fought the raiders, but in the fight, one of Zak's engines was hit. Apollo stayed with him as they tried to make it back to the Fleet before the Cylons, but Zak was slowing them down and the Cylons were catching up." Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, Athena sighed, "He told Apollo to go on...to warn us. Zak then turned his Viper around and engaged the Cylons to cover Apollo's escape."

"I see..." Adama said as the young woman collapsed sobbing into his arms. "I know it's small comfort." The Commander consoled, "But his sacrifice might well have saved thousands."

"That's just it!" Athena sobbed, "It didn't! Father tried to warn the president! Tried to get him to alert the Fleet. Even as we picked up the Cylons on our scanners, he begged President Adar to allow him to launch our Vipers. But the president had Baltar right next to him, whispering in his ear." The young Warrior spat out venomously, "So he refused to give my Father permission."

"Damn." Adama swore.

"Father, though..." Athena smiled fondly, "Along with Colonel Tigh decided that it was the perfect time to conduct a readiness drill and so ordered the ship to battle stations and had the pilots in their Vipers and the Vipers in their launch tubes when the Cylons came."

"Good." The Commander nodded his head, "He did all he could do without violating a presidential order." Smiling, Adama remarked, "I hope one day I can meet him."

"I hope so too, Sir. I think he'd like you." Pausing for a moment, Athena tentatively inquired, "If it's not too personal, Sir, can I ask how your son died?"

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the Commander nodded his head. "My younger son's name was Zach as well and like your brother, he was training to be a Viper pilot. He died in training." Adama said, his head lowered, "It was an accident."

"I'm sorry, Sir." Athena said in a voice both consoling and apologetic.

"Thank you." Adama acknowledged with a sad smile. His eyes turning to the clock he said, "I'm afraid we need to head back to the infirmary. It's lunch time now and I'm sure you're hungry. Also..." The Commander said, "We need to find other quarters for you other than Doc Cottle's infirmary..."

"Sir?" Athena tentative asked as the pair walked away from the memorial, "I know that I'll probably never return to my home again and that this is going to be my new home. So...I just wanted to let you know that I'm willing to do anything that needs doing to help. I don't care what it is. Teaching kids, scrubbing the bulkheads, whatever."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Adama smiled, "I think I might have something in mind for you, but I'll need to talk it over with a few people first. I'll let you know soon how it turns out." He said as the pair entered the infirmary, only to see Dr. Baltar waiting.

"Athena!" Doctor Baltar greeted with a smile and a wave of his hand. "I was wondering...if it's not too much of an imposition..." He stammered, "Would you like to join me for lunch in the galley. While not my first choice as far as appetizing is concerned..." The scientist remarked with a winning grin, "The meals are filling."

"Doc says you should be able to eat most solid foods now." Nurse Ishay said, "Just try to avoid anything overly spicy for a few days."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea..." Athena demurred.

"_She still doesn't trust you, Gaius..."_ his ethereal companion, this time wearing a diaphanous light blue dress, smirked as she rubbed up sensuously against him.

"I can see..." Baltar said in a gentle tone, "...that you're not sure about me right now. And believe me...I can understand why. I only hope that given time you'll give me the opportunity to prove myself to you. I realize that this all must be more than a little overwhelming to you, and the fact that my surname is the same as the one who betrayed your people doesn't help matters any. If you'd rather not...I'll understand. I just want you to know that if there's anything you need...anything I can do to help you...all you have to do is ask."

Feeling guilty at her flinching, Athena quickly apologized, "I'm sorry...it's just that...All right...let's have lunch...I am hungry."

Smiling inwardly as he saw that his words had the desired effect, Gaius smiled back, "Excellent. That'll give us a chance to talk."

"Guys?" Athena called out to her marine guards. "You ready to grab a bite to eat?"

"Thank you, Ma'am." Corporal Venner replied, "We could sure go for some chow now."

"All right." Athena smiled, "Ready when you are."

As soon as the pair had sat down with their trays, Baltar asked, "I'm curious. What sort of readings did you pick up from the anomaly before it..."

"Before it swallowed me up?" Athena completed, "Well..." She began, "Do you have a minicomp or something I could write with?"

"Here." Gaius offered as he produced a small pad and pencil. "Sorry, it's the best I can do under the circumstances."

"It'll work." Athena remarked as she began to write out mathematical equations.

"Interesting." Baltar commented, "But what if..." He then took the pencil and replaced one of Athena's variables, "We replace that with this?"

"That would change the entire nature of the equation!" Athena exclaimed loudly, attracting the attention of the nearby diners. "Sorry." The brunette apologized. "Problem is though, you're not taking into account this factor here..." She said as she crossed out one of Baltar's formulae and plugged in another.

"I see..." The scientist smiled as his invisible blonde companion appeared next to him.

"_Foreplay with equations, Gaius?"_ His phantom lover quipped as she blew in his ear.

"You still here?" Athena waved her hand in front of Baltar's face.

"Oh...I'm sorry." The scientist apologized. "I was just thinking that if you brought in this variable it might balance out the equation."

"Possibly." Athena nodded her head as she finished the last of her meal. Glancing in the direction of her guards, she smiled, "I think we should be getting back though. I don't want to get the corporal and the private in any trouble."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Corporal Venner said with a smile. Turning towards his fellow guard, he whispered, "Did you understand what those two were talking about?"

"Not a frakking thing." The private replied, shaking his head, "You forget? I failed math in school."

As they left the galley and entered the corridor, Athena turned to her lunch companion. "I...actually enjoyed myself. Is there something...a name...I can call you other than..."

Smiling, Baltar stretched out his hand, "Please...Call me Gaius. That's my given name."

"All right." Athena nodded her head, "Gaius. It was fun."

"Thank you." Gaius replied with a half bow. "And...I was wondering...if it would be all right...once you got settled in and all, of course...if I could perhaps see you again?"

"Depending on what Commander Adama decides to do with me and where he decides to put me..." Athena replied, "Yes. I think I'd like that."

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"So...what are your opinions on Athena?" The Commander asked the individuals assembled around the round conference table.

"She wants to contribute." Elosha declared. "She realizes that she's not going to return to where she came from and as a result she's adrift..."

"She seems to be enthusiastically embracing the worship of Isis." Roslin noted.

"That she is." Elosha agreed, "But I don't sense she feels a calling for the priesthood. Rather, I sense it's more that Isis provides a source of comfort for her. No...another life beckons her."

"I heard she was a teacher." Roslin said. "We're definitely going to need to set up schools for our children and skilled and qualified teachers are in short supply."

"She hated teaching." Adama declared. "She told me that while she loved the children, she hated every moment in that classroom. Putting her in charge of students would be like sending her to Hades."

"She's shown a keen grasp of physics." Dr. Baltar noted.

"And also a strong ethical foundation." Adama agreed, "But, while she enjoys the sciences, that's not what she wants to do."

"What does she want to do?" Lee inquired.

"She wants to fly." Adama stated, "She's obviously capable of flying a Viper..."

"Father...Commander..."Lee protested, "...you're not seriously suggesting that we..."

"She understands military protocol." Colonel Tigh observed, "And those tapes we listened to indicate that she can keep her cool."

Nodding his head, Adama added, "She has a high capacity for initiative, while also being willing to follow orders—even if she personally doesn't like them."

"She also has a strong moral center." Elosha commented. "I do not believe she will willingly carry out what she feels to be an unlawful order without just cause or good reason."

"So...if she were ordered to just kill someone in cold blood without reason, she'd probably refuse." Roslin posited.

"Most likely." Elosha agreed.

"I'd rather have someone willing to question or refuse an unlawful order and be willing to accept the consequences rather than an automaton who claims later that, 'I was just following orders.'" Adama forcefully declared.

"Would she be willing to accept the consequences of her actions?" Lee questioned.

"Yes," Elosha nodded her head, "She would."

"We are short of pilots..." Tigh began, "But Commander...we know so little about her...are you sure you want to risk putting her in the pilot's seat of a Viper?"

Coming to a decision, Commander Adama declared, "The odds are slim that we'll be able to find a way to get her back to where she belongs, so like it or not, this is now her home. She needs a purpose—a reason to go on—and I intend to give her that."

"Bill..." Tigh cautioned, lowering his voice so that the others couldn't hear, "Are you sure you're not doing this because of those test results? While she might have the same genetics as your daughter would have had if you had a daughter—you know she's not really your daughter—right? She's some other Adama's kid."

"You're right, Saul." William answered back, "And if he's anything like me, he's probably grieving for her now—as is her brother if he's anything like Lee. She might not be my daughter, but as I said, she needs a home and she'll have one here. My mind's made up."

Knowing that when his father's mind was made up, it was useless to argue further, Lee simply nodded his head and acknowledged with a polite, "Yes, sir."

Turning to Laura, William asked, "Madame President, only the President can issue commissions for officers. Do you consent?"

Nodding her head, the president replied, "While I'll admit to still having some reservations, I'll accede to your judgment. Since I don't have any formal commissioning certificates..." The president stated as she handed a piece of paper to the Commander, "I'll let you fill in the details as to rank and all."

"Thank you, Madame President." Commander Adama stated as he took the signed paper and filled in the necessary legal formula, passing it back to the president for her signature.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Bill..." Colonel Tigh remarked sotto voce as Commander Adama addressed his son.

"Lee..." The Commander ordered, "I want you to check Athena out in a viper...give her cockpit and ground instruction—see how much she knows and then, if and only if, you feel confident enough in her abilities, take her out and see how she does in flight. If she does ok, we'll put her on the flight rotation. If she's got ability, but needs more training, then we'll assign her to a training cadre. If she doesn't work out, then we'll assign her to the bridge or other duties."

"Yes, Sir." Lee acknowledged as the Commander instructed the marine standing watch to fetch Athena from the infirmary.

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"You can come in, now." Commander Adama called out upon hearing the knock at the door. "Stand in front of the flag and raise your right hand..." The Commander directed, gesturing at a flag beside which on either side stood the president, Captain Adama, Elosha, Dr. Baltar, and Colonel Tigh. Taking her place before the flag, Athena did as she was told. As the Commander approached Athena, Colonel Tigh called out, "Attention on deck!"

"Raise your right hand and repeat after me." Adama commanded.

Seeing the solemn expressions on everyone else in the room, Athena wordlessly complied with the commander's orders, raising her hand and repeating the Commander's words.

"I Athena Adama do now pledge my faith and loyalty to the protection of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and will carry out the lawful orders of my superiors as an officer in the Colonial Fleet. I will also follow all of the provisions in the Articles of the Twelve Colonies. So help me gods."

"Madame President?" The Commander nodded his head in the direction of the president who then read from a piece of paper.

"I, Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies, do appoint Athena Adama as a Junior Lieutenant in the Colonial Fleet. And I do strictly charge and require those officers and other personnel of lesser rank to render such obedience as is due an officer of this grade and position. And this officer is to observe and follow such orders and directives, from time to time, as may be given by me, or the future President of the Twelve Colonies, or other superior officers acting in accordance with the laws of the Twelve Colonies."

"Congratulations, Lieutenant." Commander Adama smiled as he offered his newest officer his hand.

"Thank you, sir." Athena replied taking the older man's hand in hers and shaking it. "I promise you that I won't disappoint you."

"I'm sure you won't." He smiled back as the others in the room and the president all offered their congratulations.

"Now that that's done." The commander announced, "Are you ready for your first orders, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir." The newly-commissioned Colonial officer promptly replied.

"Captain Adama? Take the lieutenant to the quartermasters and get her issued uniform, kit and have her fitted out into a flight suit. Then check her out on the Mk. II viper as we discussed earlier. If she checks out, billet her with the other pilots."

"Yes, sir." Lee acknowledged. Giving his 'sister' a hard look, the CAG declared, "You heard the Commander, Lieutenant. I hope you've had a good lunch, because I'm going to put you through the grind. You're not getting out in space until I'm satisfied that you know every inch of that viper backwards and forwards. IF—and that's a BIG if—you can prove to me that you really do know which end of a viper is which, you'll get a chance to show me what you can do out there."

Maintaining eye contact with her 'brother', Athena replied, "Yes, sir. When do we start?"

"Right now." Lee replied as he opened the door to conference room and exited with Junior Lieutenant Adama close behind. As she passed her two marine guards, both men snapped to attention and saluted, giving Athena her first official salutes as a commissioned officer. Snappily returning the marines' salutes, Athena permitted a slight grin to cross her features as she passed them.

Watching as the two officers departed, Colonel Tigh leaned over and whispered to his old friend, "This should be interesting."

"I agree." William answered back, "Madame President...Doctor Baltar...Priestess Elosha, thank you for your help." He concluded as Laura nodded her head in response, taking the non-verbal cue.

"You're welcome, Commander." She smiled back as she made ready to depart, "It's time I returned to Colonial One anyway. Please keep me abreast of any further developments."

"All right, Lieutenant." Captain Adama, wearing olive drab fatigues along with his student, pointed towards the engines of the Viper they were concentrating on. "Tell me about the engines of this Mark II Viper."

Her fatigues, as well as one of her cheeks, now spotted with oil and grease, Athena recited without missing a beat, "It has one Voram VM2-D15 upper turbo-thrust engine, two Voram VM3-D22 turbo-thrust engines, and two reverse thrust motors."

"Not bad." Lee nodded his head approvingly. "Now, armaments."

"2 x MEC-A6 30mm Thraxon forward-firing kinetic energy weapons mounted in the wing roots with 800 round magazine." Athena itemized, "Dorsal storage bay for eight HD-70 Lightning Javelin missiles that can carry an optional fifty megaton nuclear warhead. Weapon hardpoints for mounting missiles, munitions pods, or anything else under the wings."

"Very good, Lieutenant." Apollo praised, "But you still have a tendency to use time and distance measurements from your universe. You're going to have to learn our terminology and way of doing things here—seconds, minutes, hours...not centons, microns, and centaurs or whatever those units of time you used to using are called—proper radio procedure—the proper terms for instruments—or you're never going to sit in the cockpit of a viper—do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Athena answered back in the same voice that she used to use on her brother when he infuriated her in one way of another.

"Listen to me, Lieutenant...Athena..." Lee said, his voice losing its edge, "Believe it or not, I'm not doing this to hassle you and I'm not doing this because I don't think you can do the job because you're a woman. I understand that was why they wouldn't allow women to be Viper pilots where you're from, but that's not the case here."

"Then why?" Athena asked, "You've been suspicious of me ever since I've arrived here and I've done nothing to deserve that sort of suspicion."

"You're right." Apollo confessed, "You haven't."

"Then why have you been so hard on me?" Athena pleaded.

"Listen, Athena. There's no margin for error out there."

"I know that!" Athena protested.

"Let me finish." Lee held his hand up, silencing any further protest, "It's not just that we don't have the birds...we don't have the pilots either. For every Cylon we shoot down there are a hundred more to replace it. When they take out one of our Vipers—that's it. We lose both Viper and pilot. I have to know that I can rely on every pilot out there to know their job and be ready and willing to do it. Lives depend on that. So, it's not a matter of you being a woman or you being my 'sister'—there are any number of female Viper and Raptor pilots in the squadron and I'd fly with 'em anytime. As for the 'sister' thing...I'll admit I'm still trying to process that, but that's not an issue where this is concerned and it won't ever be one. It is a matter of me knowing that you are capable of doing your job and not getting yourself or anyone else killed because you can't do it. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir." A much more subdued Athena nodded her head.

"Good." The Captain responded, placing a supportive hand on his 'sister's' shoulder. "Now...let's run through it all again..." he said as he pointed at the throttle, "Beginning here, name the instrument panel and the functions of the various components of the Mk. II viper."

"Throttle..." Athena recited and then provided a perfect textbook description of the throttle's function before going on to all of the other instruments and parts of the viper until finally, her taskmaster nodded his head in satisfaction.

"Good enough." Lee declared, inwardly pleased at how quickly she had actually picked up on the terminology. "Since, we've got the briefing room to ourselves for the next couple of hours, I want you to tell me all you know about viper combat."

"Not bad." Apollo nodded his head approvingly. "You know not only when to engage, but when not to engage. There's a difference between being cocky and being reckless. Being sure of yourself and your abilities—and limitations—is good. Being reckless and careless or timid and overly cautious can get you and your squadron mates killed."

"You sound like my brother back in the other universe." Athena smiled.

"Sounds like he's a pretty smart guy." Lee joked.

"Sometimes." Athena jibed back, "Sometimes he could be a real...what's the word? I heard Colonel Tigh call someone that...a real asshat."

"So, was he your instructor?" Lee asked after he'd gotten his laughter at Athena's comment about his counterpart in the other universe out of his system.

"Some." Athena answered back, "But Starbuck was the one who taught me the most."

"Starbuck..." Lee paused for a moment, "I see."

"He was actually pretty good..." Athena remarked, pausing when she heard Lee's laughter. "What? Why are you laughing? Was it something I said or did?"

"No." Lee chuckled, "It's just...well...it'll wait 'til later. Right now, though..." Apollo ordered, "I want you to grab a shower and get suited up. You're going to show me how well you can fly a Mk II viper."

Yes, sir!" Athena exclaimed as a wide grin appeared on her face

Watching as his dark-haired pupil rushed out of the briefing room, Lee chuckled at both her enthusiasm and at something that Doc Cottle had told him...

"Oh No!" Athena, her body covered only by the towel wrapped around her body, gasped as she remembered what Doc Cottle had told her, _Facilities are unisex._ "Well..." Athena said in a barely audible tone as her hand went to the hatch door, "Maybe there won't be any men in there now. Go in...get cleansed...and get out." Opening the door, Athena gasped as she saw the crowd in the head. Men and women half and even fully undressed standing next to each other brushing their teeth, washing themselves, or shaving at the sinks as a man and woman, both stark naked, snapped towels at each other in front of the showers.

"In or out, Rook!" A male voice shouted.

"Dog that hatch." Another, voice, this one female called out.

Red faced, Athena entered the head and gingerly made her way to the showers, dodging to avoid brushing up against the rear of one of the men shaving over a sink. Finally reaching the showers, Athena gulped as she realized that the only space that was available was in between two men, one of whom was a muscular, well-toned man with body art on his arm and the other a not at all unattractive blond haired man.

"If you're not taking that spot, get out of the way." Someone shouted at her.

Her face now a bright crimson, Athena gulped as she removed the towel from her body and hung it on a hook. Entering the shower, she took her place underneath the nozzle and let the cold water rush over her body as she tried her best to ignore the two men standing on either side of her laughing and joking. Wasting no time, Athena quickly washed herself and exiting the shower, grabbed her towel and dried off. Wrapping the towel around her body again, she dashed out of the head to the laughter of the men and women inside.

"Who was she?" Duck asked as he stepped out of the shower.

"Dunno." Hammerhead Palladino laughed, "But she sure was bashful."

Almost running to her new quarters, Athena opened the door only to find them occupied as well. Going to her locker, she opened it and took out her flight suit. Taking a deep breath, she tried to ignore the men laughing and joking and got dressed as quickly as possible. As she turned to leave, she was called back.

"Hey! Rook!"

Quickly turning about, she saw one of the pilots calling her over. "Come over here. You need to check your environmentals here." He said, pointing to the buttons on her left forearm. Doesn't seem like a big deal when you're in a hurry, but doing it can save your life."

"Thank you..."

"Ninja." The pilot grinned, giving her his call sign, "And don't mention it. Good hunting out there, Rook."

Meeting Lee back in the briefing room, Apollo looked her over. "Ok...you've managed to kit yourself out properly."

"I had a little help from one of the pilots—Ninja." Athena confessed.

"Nothing wrong with helping each other out or asking for help from someone else." Apollo answered back, "So long as you either know how or learn how to do it for yourself—you won't always have someone to lean on."

"Understood, Sir." Athena replied.

"Good. Now...you ready to fly?" Apollo asked with a crooked grin.

"Hells, yes!" Athena exclaimed.

"Then let's go!" Lee urged as he gently pushed his 'sister' forward.

As she approached the viper that she was assigned to for this training flight, she was met by a burly man with a genial face and dark hair. "Senior Chief Tyrol, Sir. I've just checked over your bird here and everything's ship-shape." Lowering his voice, the amiable chief advised, "This baby's armed with traditional guns, not like your old ship. When you fire those guns, be ready for it."

"Thanks, Chief. Captain Adama told me all about it." Athena smiled warmly as she accepted his offer of help in getting into the cockpit.

Then after giving her a last, quick rundown of the controls, Tyrol affixed a metal collar round the young brunette and then secured her flight helmet. Patting her helmet once in a good luck gesture, the chief called out a quick, "Good hunting, Lieutenant!" before climbing off the viper.

"_Viper one...you're clear for launch."_ Athena heard over the radio. _"Good hunting, Apollo."_

"_Viper two...you're clear for launch." _Captain Kelly's voice came through the radio, _"Good hunting, Lieutenant."_

Remembering her procedures, Athena replied and hit the launch button, sending her craft into space.

"So far...so good." Her CAG's voice came through the radio, "Tuck in and we'll see how well you can fly in formation.

Following instructions, the pair went through a series of maneuvers and rotations until Apollo ordered, "All right, Lieutenant, check your guns."

"Yes, sir." Athena acknowledged as she pressed the fire button on her throttle, her heart momentarily skipping a beat as instead of seeing the flashes of red light she was familiar with, she saw tracer rounds and the sound of bullets firing.

Hearing laughter over the radio, Athena keyed her mike, "Something funny, CAG?"

"First time you heard bullets, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir." The young brunette answered honestly.

"Well..." Lee replied, all trace of humor gone from his voice, "Get used to it. You'll be hearing them a lot more."

"Yes, sir." Athena solemnly replied as Lieutenant Gaeta's voice now came through on the radio.

"Dradis contact. Cylon raiders vectoring 53 degrees Carom 40."

"Have the alert fighters been launched?" Lee demanded.

"Affirmative." Gaeta replied, "They should intercept in thirty seconds."

"It'll be too late." The CAG answered back. "I'll intercept. Lieutenant Athena..." he ordered, "Maintain position. Do not engage." With that, Lee accelerated his viper, pitching it towards the rapidly closing Cylons.

Gritting her teeth at being left behind, Athena remembering the words that Starbuck had drilled into her head in what seemed now like another life hit her afterburners, turning towards the raiders to join her 'brother.' _Well...it was fun being a lieutenant while it lasted._

Suppressing an oath as he saw that Athena had closed formation and was now flying behind and slightly below him, in the proper position to render support, Lee growled into his mike, "I thought I told you to stay out of this, Lieutenant."

"First thing I was taught." Athena replied, "A wingman always stays with his wing leader."

Listening to the radio chatter from their places in CIC, Tigh turned to his commanding officer, "She's going to get herself killed."

"Perhaps." The elder Adama responded, "Perhaps not. How long before the alert fighters intercept."

"Not soon enough." Tigh grimly replied. "They're on their own."

"Ok, Athena." Lee ordered, "Listen and listen close. These raiders are more maneuverable than the ones you're used to. Don't get into a turning dogfight with them. Slashing passes. First pass with missiles, then we go to guns. Stick with me and we'll get through this."

"Yes, sir." Athena acknowledged as the raiders turned towards them. "Locking on." She said as her missile display lit up. "Firing." Missiles launched out from both vipers each targeting a raider as the cylon formation broke. As the pair sliced through the remaining cylons, Athena, lining up a shot against the strangely shaped raider she faced, let loose with a volley, the rounds missing her opponent as she passed it. Pivoting about quickly, she saw that she had was now in the perfect six o'clock low position. Smirking triumphantly, the dark haired warrior fired again, only this time, her rounds hit home as the raider exploded before her.

The hairs on the back of her neck tingling, Athena quickly pitched and yawed her viper down just as a missile whizzed by where she once was. "Frak!" She cursed as she craned her head in an effort to locate the raider that had fired the missile. Spying a glint of metal in the distance, the lieutenant turning her viper towards it, hit her accelerator. Driven back into her seat by the g-forces, Athena idly wondered what Starbuck would think of her now as she closed on the cylon craft that was closing on her. _Got to time this right._ She breathed as the raider grew closer and closer. _Now!_ Firing her last missile, Athena pitched left and dived as the raider, unable to react in time, exploded on impact with the raider.

"That's the last of 'em."

Hearing Lee's voice through the radio, Athena responded with a simple, "Thank Isis."

"Good shooting, Athena." Lee praised before commanding, "Let's get back to the barn. First round's on me."

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"Not bad." Commander Adama commented as he addressed his XO. "What did you think, Colonel."

"She disobeyed Apollo's order..." Tigh noted.

"To back up her wing leader." Adama countered. "During the fight she followed his orders."

"True." Tigh nodded his head. "Nice little bit of timing with that last raider too."

"I noticed that." Adama replied. "Well...I told Lee it was his call and I'm going to let him make it, but for what it's worth, I think she's ready." He then picked up the ship's phone. "Flight Deck? Have Captain Adama call the Commander once he touches down."

"Aye, Sir." Chief Tyrol replied.

"Oh...and Chief..." The Commander added, "Better have a Viper ready to be assigned to a new pilot."

"Yes, Sir!" Tyrol enthusiastically responded, "I have the perfect bird for her, Sir." Turning to Cally and Jammer, the Chief called out, "Ok hurry up, I want that bird ready for its pilot."

"We still need a call sign, Chief!" Jammer called back.

"When we get it, I'll let you know!" The Chief replied, "For now get that bird on the line!"

In the CIC, Commander Adama turned to his XO, "I'm going to my quarters and then to the pilots' area. You have CIC."

"Yes, Sir." Colonel Tigh acknowledged as the Commander walked away. "Keep alert, people!" The colonel ordered. "They almost caught us that time—I don't want that to happen again."

Stopping off at his quarters, the Commander took an object from inside his desk drawer. Looking at the object in his hands, Adama smiled sadly as he nodded his head. Glancing at the picture of his deceased son, he sat down at his desk to await his son's call.

Athena exited her training viper to smiles and cheers from the ground crew as her 'brother' approached. "Good flying, Lieutenant." The CAG declared, "Consider yourself on the active flight rotation. First stop, the rec room for that ambrosia and let you meet some of your new squadron mates."

"Sir? Chief Tyrol reluctantly interrupted, "The Commander wants you to contact him as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Chief." The CAG acknowledged, "Afraid you'll have to wait a few minutes, Athena." Lee apologized as he made his way to a ship's phone. Picking up the phone, he then waited until he was patched through to his father. "Sir...with your permission, I'd like to put Junior Lieutenant Adama on the active flight roster."

"Permission granted, Captain." Adama replied as a smile crossed his lips.

"We're going to the rec room now." Lee indicated, "I think she's earned a shot of ambrosia and I want to begin introducing her to the other pilots."

"Good idea, Son." The Commander agreed.

"She also needs a call sign and wings." The CAG added.

"I'll take care of the wings and will meet you in the rec room." Commander Adama replied, "You and the rest of pilots can come up with her call sign. Chief Tyrol is also preparing a surprise for her, so let him know what her call sign is once she gets one."

"Yes, Sir." Lee smiled as he hung up. Returning to Athena, Lee gestured with his hand for her to join him, "C'mon, Lieutenant. Time to meet the rest of the squadron and get you a call sign."

As the pair entered the raucous rec room, Lee scanned the room, his eyes were looking for one individual in particular. Spotting her at a table playing triad, a stack of cubits and glass of ambrosia in front of her and a thick robusto cigar in her mouth, he called out, "Hey Kara!" He called out, "Someone I want you to meet!"

"Wait 'til I finish this hand!" Kara called back as she laid down her cards. "Full colors!" She gloated as she raked in her winnings. "Thank you all very much for contributing to the Starbuck Drinking Fund."

"Did she just say 'Starbuck'?" Athena gasped.

"Yep." Lee smiled back as a smug Kara approached.

"That the new rook?" She asked as she slugged down her ambrosia.

"Yep." Lee replied, his smile growing wider as his anticipation for the next moment grew greater, "Lieutenant Kara Thrace, meet Junior Lieutenant Athena Adama." His smile now turning to laughter at the shocked look on the blonde pilot's face, he continued, "Lieutenant Adama, meet Lieutenant Kara Thrace, call sign Starbuck."

Athena shook her head in disbelief as the CAG's laughter filled the room while the other pilots looked on in confusion. "You're Starbuck?" She asked in shock, "And your name is Kara Thrace?"

"Yeah. What of it?" Starbuck replied as she held out her glass for a much needed refill. "Lee...what the frak's going on here? Athena Adama?" Then as she gulped down her drink, the blonde pilot put the pieces together. "Oh my gods...you're the pilot from that Viper...the one who came out of the wormhole!"

On hearing that, the rec room suddenly fell silent.

"Yeah." Athena said softly

"And you're..." Kara gasped.

"It's complicated." Lee interrupted. "I...we'll explain it to you later...as much as we can that is." Raising his voice, the CAG addressed the rest of the pilots in the rec room. "Everyone! Can I have your attention?" He called out as he gently pushed Athena forward, "This is our newest pilot, Junior Lieutenant Athena Adama...yes, you heard right..." Lee announced as a low murmur filled the room, "Athena Adama." As the Commander entered, Boomer took a deep breath to alert the room, only to be silenced by a raised hand and shake of the head. "It's a long story and you'll find out what you need to know when it's time. For now, though, we need a call sign."

"Raven!" Crashdown called out.

"How about Artemis?" Racetrack offered.

Remembering Athena as the woman in the shower, Joe, 'Hammerhead' Palladino shouted with a laugh, "What about Bashful?"

Her face reddening at the room's laughter and growing agreement on that name, Athena took her ankh that was hanging around her neck and fingered it.

Seeing his red-faced sister with the ankh in her hands, Apollo came to her rescue, exclaiming triumphantly, "I've got it! Isis!"

Noticing how Athena's eyes lit up at that name, Apollo smiled, "I think we've got ourselves a call sign!"

Clearing his throat as he signaled Apollo, gesturing with his head towards the phone, Commander Adama spoke out in a loud, clear voice to the now silent room, "A pilot needs wings." He declared as he took the pilots wings out of his pocket and pinned them to Athena's flight suit. "They belonged to Zach." Adama said in a quiet voice filled with emotion, "Now they belong to you. Wear them with honor and pride."

"Thank you, Sir." Athena responded as her eyes began to moisten, "I will."

Nodding his head as he hung up the phone, Lee joined Athena, his father, and Starbuck. "Chief says he's ready."

"We have one more piece of business." The Commander said, "Then I'll leave you to your celebrations." Turning to Athena, he announced, "The Chief's waiting for you on the flight line. You want to see your new Viper?"

"Yes, Sir!" Athena exclaimed. As she walked with the others to the flight line, it was all Athena could do to not dash out ahead as if she were a little girl again running to meet her father coming home. She then saw the Chief and three other members of his deck crew clustered around a Viper. Drawing closer, she immediately recognized it. "That's...that's..."

"Your Viper." The Chief and the others in his crew smiled as tears came to Athena's eyes. "We overhauled her completely. Put in our systems and weapons so that she'd be compatible. Cally did most of the avionics work and Jammer and Socinus handled the engines."

"Thank you!" Athena sobbed tears of joy as she gave each member of the ground crew a quick hug, saving the last one for the Chief, "Thank you all!" Then, as her eyes fell to the canopy she saw the words stenciled beneath the cockpit glass: Junior Lieutenant Athena "Isis" Adama.

"The ink's still wet..." Chief Tyrol apologized, "We just found out what your call sign is and Cally stenciled it in as fast as she could."

"She did a great job." Athena cried happily, "You all did."

"Welcome to the _Galactica_, Isis."


	8. Chapter 8

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Chapter 8

_**Cylon Basestar**_

"We've picked up some interesting transmissions from the Colonial Fleet." Lucifer reported as he approached the raised dais upon which sat the commander of this particular basestar.

Pivoting command chair that also served as his throne, the traitorous Baltar addressed the IL series Cylon that had been appointed by the Imperious Leader to be both his subordinate and watchdog. "What sort of transmissions, Lucifer?" Baltar asked with a smirk.

"We've made recordings." Lucifer reported, "My apologies in advance for their fragmentary nature. Our reconnaissance raider had to remain at extreme range to avoid detection."

"Then, let's hear what you do have." Baltar ordered as Lucifer played the transmissions.

"Interesting." Baltar mused as he stroked his chin. "Adama has lost his daughter and a ship from what is apparently a parallel universe appeared in her place. Any information on the occupant of that other ship?" Baltar inquired.

"None." Lucifer answered. "Adama seems to have ordered a complete blackout on any communication regarding whatever was found."

"Then we need prisoners to interrogate." Baltar commanded, "Order all patrols to attempt to capture prisoners. Sooner or later, our interrogations should bear fruit."

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_**Galactica**_

As Starbuck and Cassiopeia approached Callista's cell, the displaced Eight smiled, "Hey! Caught your match last night. You guys rocked."

"Thanks." Starbuck smiled back, "I think."

"It means you were good." Callista sighed and then her lips turned up in an evil smirk, "You need to do something about your uniforms though. They're so...

"Silly?" Cassiopeia completed with a smirk of her own.

"I was thinking of something else...but yeah..." Callista grinned, "That works too. So...how goes and what's up? This a social call or business."

"A little of both." Starbuck confessed, "We were going to come by and see you anyway, but we were also told to escort you to Doctor Salik."

"Yeah." Cassiopeia said, "He and Dr. Wilker want to see what they can do about maybe removing those blocks in your mind—if you're willing." The medtech added.

"Of course." Callista replied. "I don't mind Salik anyway. He's okay—even kinda funny. But that other guy...Wilker...he gives me the creeps."

"How so?" Cassiopeia asked.

"You ever see how he looks at me?" Callista shuddered, "Like I'm a bunch of kids' building blocks—you know, the kind you played with as children that you'd put together and make into all sorts of stuff? That...or like a frog about to be dissected. Creeps me out."

"Yeah..." Starbuck admitted, "I can see how that would upset you out just a little...all right...a lot. But we're not going to let anything like that happen to you."

"Yeah." Cassiopeia agreed, "Doctor Salik won't either."

"Thanks, guys." Callista smiled. "I appreciate it. Thing is..." She sighed, "I'd like to know myself what's behind those blocks." Shaking her head, she pensively remarked, "I want to know why knowledge of my brother or sister has been blocked from me and what child doesn't want to know about their parents?"

"You know." Starbuck remarked, only half in jest, as the Warriors guarding her cell turned off the forcefield access, permitting their charge to exit, "I'm really having a hard time thinking of you as being a Cylon...you're just so..."

"Human?" Callista completed as she fell in with Starbuck, Cassiopeia, and her guards.

"Yeah." Starbuck admitted.

"Well..." Callista remarked with a nervous grin, "From what I've heard about them, imagine what your Cylons would think about me."

"I think I'm beginning to understand." The roguish Warrior nodded his head, "They'd hate you."

"Yup. To them, I'd probably be an abomination of some sort." Callista nodded her head. "I don't even want to think about what they'd do to me if they ever got their hands on me."

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"Hello, Callista." Doctor Salik smiled as the Eight, accompanied by her two guards, along with Cassiopeia and Starbuck, entered the life station. "And how are you this morning."

"Not bad." The Cylon smiled back, "I'm even beginning to get used to traveling with an entourage."

Laughing at Callista's joke, the doctor quipped, "Well, I'm glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor." Addressing the two guards, Salik ordered, "You two can wait at the door. I don't think Callista's going to cause any problems."

"So...what's up, Doc?" Callista grinned as she hopped up on the examination table. "You're not going to make me put on a strip show, are you?" She quipped as both Cassiopeia and Starbuck laughed.

"No." Salik replied with a grin. "Doctor Wilker and I want to do some tests that will measure your brain waves. Electroencephalographs. What we want to do..." He explained, "Is see if we can establish a baseline so that we can try to figure out where and what those mental blocks are and if we can safely remove them and how."

"Ok." Callista acknowledged, laying down on the table, "I'm on board with that. How long do you think it's going to take?"

"We're not sure." Doctor Wilker admitted. "We've never met a...being...like you...so we don't have a frame of reference."

"What my colleague is trying to say..." Doctor Salik interjected as he saw the frown on his patient's face, "Is that we don't want to take any chances or do anything that might put you at risk, so we're going to take everything nice and slow."

"You might want to tell your friend to work on his bedside manner." Callista jibed, bringing a smile to the physician's face, "I like your way of explaining it to me better. All right...take me...I'm yours."

"Cassie? Can you stay and assist?" Doctor Salik requested as Starbuck, taking the hint, said his goodbyes.

"I'll leave you guys to do your stuff." The roguish Warrior announced as he made his way to the exit. "I have a patrol I have to get ready for."

"Good hunting, Starbuck!" Callista called out.

"Watch yourselves!" Cassiopeia added, her voice filled with concern

"Thanks, Cassie, Cal!" Starbuck responded with a wave. "I will."

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"Have all our long range patrols reported in?" Colonel Tigh asked, directing his remarks to Bridge Officer Omega.

"All in except for Tyrus and Aaron." Omega replied, shaking his head.

"They're two centaurs overdue." Tigh remarked grimly. "What was their last reported location?"

As Omega pinpointed the lost patrol's coordinates on the display, Colonel Tigh inquired, "Who's scheduled to go out on patrol next?"

"Starbuck and Apollo." Omega promptly replied.

"Have them take a look there and see if they can find our men."

"Yes, Sir." Omega acknowledged as he relayed the Colonel's orders to the two Warriors preparing to launch.

"Orders acknowledged." Apollo replied as he and his wingman received final clearance to launch.

"We'll find 'em." Starbuck cockily affirmed.

"Viper One...Launch!" Petty Officer Rigel announced as Apollo's viper was catapulted out of the launch tube into space, followed shortly afterwards by Starbuck's craft as the petite launch specialist's voice was once again heard, "Viper Two...Launch."

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_**Cylon Basestar**_

"Unfortunately, we were unable to extract anything meaningful from the first subject." Lucifer reported in a matter-of-fact manner.

"And his condition?" Baltar asked in a languid voice as he pivoted his chair to face his subordinate.

"Comatose." The IL series cylon reported, "We used too strong a setting and it ripped his mind apart. He's a mental vegetable. What are your orders?"

"Dispose of him." The human traitor coolly commanded, "And the other?"

"Still functional." Lucifer responded, "He was interrogated after the other one, so we used a lower setting."

"But you extracted no information?" Baltar queried.

"No." Lucifer confirmed.

"Then resume interrogation at a higher setting once he has recovered." Baltar ordered, "And get more prisoners. Sooner or later, someone will tell us something."

"By your command."

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_**Galactica**_

Shaking his head, Dr. Salik exclaimed in wonder, "The results of your electroencephalogram are so close to human that if I didn't know you were an AI, I'd say you were human."

"I don't know whether to be pleased or insulted at that, Doc." Callista chuckled, her laughter taking the sting out of her comment. "So...besides that...did you pick up on anything interesting?"

"Maybe." The physician replied as Dr. Wilker interjected.

"We picked up a spike here." He said, displaying a chart showing a noticeable jump in Callista's brainwave activity. "I think it might bear further investigation."

"This isn't going to require surgery or anything like that, is it?" A dubious Callista responded, "Cause I really don't wanna be opened up."

"No...no!" Dr. Salik grinned reassuringly, "Nothing like that. We can do everything we need to do through electronic tests—all non-invasive."

"Good." Callista sighed in relief as she hopped off the examination table. "So...what sort of tests are we talking about?"

"What we want to try to do is analyze your brainwaves during REM cycle." Dr. Salik explained. "I think we might find a key to unlocking some of your memories in your dreams."

"So...all I have to do is sleep and dream?" Callista asked with a chuckle.

"That's all." Doctor Salik smiled back.

Shrugging her shoulders, Callista responded, "I'm cool with that. When do we start?"

"When you begin sleep cycle tonight." Dr. Wilker answered. "Cassiopeia will monitor you."

"It's very important that you try to remember your dreams as much as possible." Doctor Salik further explained, "We need to get into your subconscious, so, don't hold out on any details—no matter how small or...embarrassing...they might be."

"Ok..." Callista turned to Cassiopeia and winked, "Good thing you got a dirty mind, Cassie."

"I think I've seen and done it all." Cassiopeia responded with a smirk.

"We'll see..." Callista grinned back. Turning her attention back to the doctors, she asked, "Is that all for today?"

"That's it." Doctor Salik smiled back and then called out to the guards. "All right, you can take her back now."

"See you tomorrow, docs." Callista waved and then said in a sincere voice, "And thank you, Doc."

"For what?" A mystified Doctor Salik asked.

"For referring to me as 'her' and not 'it'." Callista responded, adding, "That means a lot."

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_**Deep Space**_

Slipping into formation next to his wing leader, Starbuck keyed his mike, "Hey, Apollo!"

"What is it, Starbuck?" Apollo tersely replied, anticipating the topic of discussion.

"I need to talk to you about something." Starbuck declared, his voice uncharacteristically grave.

"About what?" Apollo inquired, at once picking up on the seriousness of his friend's tone.

"It's about Callista..." Starbuck began.

"Starbuck..." Apollo sighed.

"Look..." The roguish pilot persisted, "I'm not asking you to be her best friend or anything like that, but won't you at least give her a chance."

"You know what she is, Starbuck." Apollo countered, "What her Cylons did to our counterparts in the other universe."

"I know." Starbuck replied in a grim voice, "But I got a feeling there's a lot more to it—and to her."

"You don't think they were right, do you?" A shocked Apollo exclaimed.

"No! NO!" Starbuck quickly responded. "I'm just saying that we shouldn't be blaming Callista for it—at least not until we get all the details."

"Maybe." Apollo allowed, "We'll just have to wait and see what Doctors Salik and Wilker turn up."

"Yeah...I guess you're right." Starbuck agreed. "I can't help but like her though. She's just so much like..."

"Like you?" Apollo laughed.

"Yeah." Starbuck replied, "I guess so."

"Starbuck—you're not thinking about?" Apollo exclaimed in disbelief

"No!" Starbuck responded, "Not that I hadn't given it some thought..." The roguish Warrior confessed, "But...besides the fact that she's already shot me down, her and Cassie have gotten to be pretty good friends. I don't need the hassles."

"For once, you're thinking with the head on your shoulders, Starbuck." Apollo sighed with relief.

"Yeah." The impulsive Starbuck replied, "Well...don't get used to it."

Apollo whispered under his breath as his viper's scanner beeped. "Starbuck? We've got company."

"Yeah. I picked up on them too. Let's see what we have." Images from the computer's database flashed on and off the screen until it settled on the image of a Cylon raider. "We've got two of them and they're coming for us!"

"_Galactica_!" Apollo radioed, the two Vipers peeling off from each other as the Cylons attacked, "We're being attacked by Cylons. Repeat, we're under Cylon attack."

"Frak!" Starbuck cursed as he juked just in time to avoid the lasers from the Cylon on his tail. "That one's good."

"So's the one on me." Apollo replied as he maneuvered his craft behind his attacker. "Got him." The Warrior cried out triumphantly as red laser bolts lanced out from his Viper, impacting on the Cylon raider.

"Mine's down too." Starbuck called out victoriously as the Raider that had been attacking him blew up in a bright explosion. Glancing at his scanner, the blond Warrior cursed, "Holy frak...Apollo..."

Sighing in dejection as his screen filled with indicators representing Cylon raiders, Apollo groaned, "I see 'em, Starbuck."

"Colonial Vipers..." A mechanical voice came through the pilots' speakers. "You will immediately surrender. Failure to comply will result in your immediate destruction."

As the pair found themselves surrounded by Cylon raiders, with several of the raiders bracketing them, giving them no opening to escape Apollo let out a deep breath as he responded to the Cylon demand. "We...surrender and will comply with your orders."

"You are to accompany us." The mechanical voice ordered. "Any deviation from approved flight plan will result in your immediate termination."

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_**Galactica**_

"Hey, Cassie!" Callista grinned as she noticed the blonde medtech approaching her cell. "It's a little early to hook me up, I'm not feeling sleepy yet. Her grin rapidly vanishing as she saw the expression on her friend's face, she asked, "Something wrong?"

"Apollo and Starbuck." Cassiopeia sighed, "They're missing."

"Starbuck mentioned that they were going out on patrol." Callista recalled, "Did something go wrong?"

"Yeah." Cassie admitted. "He and Apollo were sent to the same area where we lost an earlier patrol.

"What happened to the other patrol?" Callista asked.

"They don't know." Cassiopeia shook her head, "They never returned or reported in, so Apollo and Starbuck were sent to investigate." Pausing for a moment, the medtech asked, "Do you think the Cylons might have captured them?"

"Possibly." Callista conjectured. "They might be looking for intel." Callista speculated, adding, "That's about the only reason we would take humans prisoner."

"Do the Cylons in your universe hate humans that much?" Cassiopeia inquired.

"Seems your Cylons don't care too much for humans either." Callista retorted.

"I don't think they hate us so much as see us as pests or vermin...to be exterminated." Cassiopeia replied in a somber voice, "But I don't think they feel much emotionally towards us. But from what I've learned talking with you, I get the feeling there's much more feeling tied into your manner about humans."

Sighing, Callista nodded her head, "Not so much me...but with many...probably most...of my fellow Cylons, I'd say you're right. It goes into the whole being created by humans and then being enslaved and forced to fight for them thing. It kind of sours many of us on humans—no offense."

"None taken." Cassiopeia replied, "So...why don't you..."

"Hate humans?" Callista completed as the blonde medtech nodded her head. "Well...like I said earlier, my job kept me away from most of my brothers and sisters for long periods of time, so I never really took part in the 'I Hate Human' meetings and all. I also got to know my human clientele. Some were scumbags—no question about that. Most were...meh...not particularly special or likeable or detestable, I might not go out of my way to help them if they were in trouble, but I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire either. In any event, I don't think they deserved getting vaped just for being human. So...no...I didn't agree with the decision my brothers and sisters came to."

"Were there any humans that you liked on the other side?" Cassiopeia asked.

"Yeah." Callista shrugged her shoulders, "A couple. Aaron...the guy I was telling you about. I liked him well enough to cook him my chicken parmesan—and I don't do that for just anyone. Then there was the barista at that cafe on Libran. She was nice...always had a smile on her face and she always made sure to put in a few extra cinnamon sprinkles and nutmeg in my coffee."

"But no one you were really involved with...other than Aaron?" Cassie probed.

"Nah..." Callista shook her head, "And I wasn't really involved with Aaron—that was just getting started when I got sucked into that wormhole. I was happy going from fling to fling. Lots of acquaintances, but no real friends."

"I can relate." Cassiopeia nodded her head, "I was that way for a long time..."

"Until you met Starbuck." Callista winked.

"Yeah." Cassie laughed.

"And he's been giving you headaches ever since." Callista chuckled.

"I think you just summed up our relationship." Cassiopeia confessed.

"And now you're worried sick about him and Apollo." Callista declared in a sympathetic tone.

"Yeah." Cassie again confessed. "I don't want to think that they're dead or Cylon prisoners."

After a few moments of thought, Callista hesitatingly entreated, "Cassie? Can you get to Adama?"

"Yeah...I should be able to...why?"

"I think I might be able to help find and maybe rescue your missing pilots—including Starbuck and Apollo." Callista announced.

"You can?" A suddenly reinvigorated Cassiopeia exclaimed, "How?"

"No guarantees..." Callista cautioned, "But I have a few tricks up my sleeve that might help. If Adama will let me."

"I'll go right to him." Cassie cried, giving her new friend a hug, "I'll make him listen."

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_**Cylon Basestar**_

"One of our patrols has picked up two more prisoners." Lucifer reported in his usual oily voice as Baltar swiveled his chair to face his underling.

"What are you waiting for, then. Begin their interrogation." Baltar commanded.

"You might want to speak with these two before doing anything irreversible." Lucifer suggested.

"Why?"

"Because the two prisoners are Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck." Lucifer smugly replied.

"Oh?" Baltar exclaimed as an evil smile crossed his features. "That makes this even more interesting."

"I thought you might think so." Lucifer responded, "So...what are your orders?"

"By all means, bring them here, Lucifer." Baltar grinned, "I think I will conduct their interrogations personally."

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_**Galactica**_

"No." Adama shook his head, "Absolutely not."

"We can't trust her." Colonel Tigh pointed out, agreeing with his old friend.

"What does she have to do to begin to earn your trust?" Cassiopeia pleaded, "She's done everything you've asked of her; complied with all your requests; and you still keep her locked up in a cell and under guard."

"She's a self-confessed Cylon." Tigh pointed out.

"From another universe." Cassiopeia argued.

"Whose Cylons are also seeking to exterminate the humans existing there."

"After those humans had enslaved them and forced them to fight their wars for them!" Cassiopeia retorted.

"Enough!" The Commander barked, silencing the increasingly heated exchange. "Dr. Salik? Adama inquired, turning his attention to the physician who had been quietly observing the argument between his medtech and the executive officer, "What is your opinion, Doctor? Who or what is Callista?"

"Callista is a living, feeling individual deserving of respect." Dr. Salik declared. "She is not a thing or an object...she is a person who feels hurt and anger at being thought of as an object."

"Just as any of us would." Cassiopeia interjected.

"But can we trust her?" Tigh repeated.

"Not if we don't give her the opportunity to earn our trust." Cassiopeia countered, further pleading, "At least listen to what she has to say. You can still say no afterwards."

"And if we refuse after hearing her out, you'll cease your advocacy of her." Adama replied.

"No." Cassiopeia shook her head, "But I'll tone it down a little."

Chuckling, the white-haired Commander came to a decision. "Very well, have Callista brought here. I'll listen to what she has to say."

"Thank you." Cassiopeia sighed with relief, "I'll tell her the good news."

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Pacing in his quarters, Adama gestured to a chair as Callista entered, accompanied by Cassiopeia and Dr. Salik, her Warrior escort standing watch just outside the door. Sit down, Callista." The white-haired Commander requested. As the human-Cylon took her seat, the Commander stated, "I am told that you might be able to find our Warriors."

"Maybe." Callista qualified.

"Maybe?" Adama exclaimed, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't guarantee, they'll be alive." The model Eight flatly declared, "But I'm pretty sure I can find out what happened to them and if they are alive, bring them back."

"How?" The Commander inquired.

"With my ship, I can jump in close to where your patrols went missing and if there are Cylons there, I should be able to tap into their communications network." Callista began, only to be cut off by Colonel Tigh.

"These Cylons are completely different from you. It would be like me trying to speak to someone who doesn't understand Colonial while I don't understand his language."

"Yes and no." Callista replied. "While I might not be able to pick up anything overly complex, I'm pretty sure that I can pick up on basic stuff such as flight telemetry. With that, I should be able to determine where they're operating from and then I can jump to it."

"Without knowing their coordinate system?" Tigh shook his head.

"Don't need to." Callista retorted with a sly grin. "You forgot? I can navigate by dead reckoning." As her eyes scanned the occupants of the room, Callista took a deep breath. "Please...let me try this. I know I can find them and bring them back." Seeing the dubious looks on both Colonel Tigh and Adama's faces, the Cylon played her last card, "Look...I know you don't trust me. If it'll help sway your opinion towards letting me do this, you can send people with me. It'd probably be a good idea to have a medtech anyway, and if I run into problems, it wouldn't hurt to have a couple of tough guys to back me up and when they're not backing me up, they can keep an eye on me."

"Commander..." Cassiopeia interjected, "This is probably our best chance of getting Apollo, Starbuck, and the others back, but we have to move soon."

"Cassie's right." Callista advised, "If your Cylons are anything like my brothers and sisters, you're only going to have a short window in which to act and that window is closing rapidly while we're sitting here talking."

Taking a deep breath, Adama exhaled, "I've lost a son and daughter and am not ready to lose another. Very well. I'll authorize the mission. Cassiopeia, you're to accompany Callista along with Boomer and Jolley." Turning to Callista, the old man's eyes pleaded as he spoke, "Bring our loved ones back."

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_**Cylon Basestar**_

As the two warriors were marched towards the command dais, Starbuck muttered to his friend, "Well, Apollo. Looks like we've really stepped in the felgercarb now."

"Silence." A gold command centurion ordered as the group reached the foot of the dais.

Looking up, Apollo immediately recognized the figure sitting in the command chair, "Baltar." The Warrior sneered.

"Ah...Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck. I'm so pleased that you decided to...drop in. We have so much to talk about..."

_Sorry for the delays in updates, but work and home considerations have to come first. I hope everyone enjoys this part—sorry about the cliffhanger, but it actually made sense to end it here. Lots of action coming up as next part will focus on Athena and then we'll see Callista begin the process of earning trust._


End file.
